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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: game · drill · mark · chair · key · pound · snap · ground

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mark — a grade
  4. key — the most important part
  5. ground — the earth
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. mark — a trace
  9. drill — army training
  10. chair — a leader
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pound — a weight
  15. game — wild animals
  16. key — in music
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. key — for a lock
  20. ground — crushed
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. ground — a position
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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