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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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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: leaves · snap · march · jam · club · kick · race · bound

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. club — for dancing
  3. snap — to click
  4. race — humankind
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. march — the month
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bound — obliged
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — tied together
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. kick — in football
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. bound — certain
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. march — music
  23. race — the arms race
  24. jam — a tight spot

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