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

Word bank: squash · pound · snap · key · band · game

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — a weight
  6. snap — to click
  7. band — a ring
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. key — for a lock
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — the most important part
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — in music
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. game — a match
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group

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