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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · snap · sharp · wake · wound · last · row · court

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. court — for sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wake — a trail
  7. sharp — clever
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — an injury
  10. row — a line
  11. court — of a king
  12. band — a ring
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. last — to go on
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. court — of law

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com