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

Word bank: race · swing · key · season · wound · board · snap · land

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — in music
  6. land — ground
  7. board — a committee
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — a country
  10. race — humankind
  11. swing — to play on
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — the most important part
  14. snap — to click
  15. race — a contest
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. swing — in golf
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. swing — music
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — of the year
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wound — an injury

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