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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 124 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: snap · game · squash · mark · key · face

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. squash — the sport
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. snap — to click
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. key — the most important part
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. squash — to crush
  13. mark — a trace
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. mark — a grade
  17. game — a match
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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