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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. key — the most important part
  8. key — in music
  9. key — for a lock
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hand — help
  17. race — humankind
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. race — a contest
  21. band — a music group
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. band — a ring
  24. race — the arms race

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