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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: key · snap · march · bass · pound · race · lean · perch

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bass — low music
  5. march — the month
  6. race — a contest
  7. lean — thin
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pound — a weight
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. snap — to click
  14. race — humankind
  15. lean — to bend
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. perch — the fish
  19. march — the month
  20. bass — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — music
  24. perch — for a bird

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