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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: snap · last · wind · pound · club · kid · nail · race

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. club — for dancing
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — finally
  10. club — a group
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. snap — to click
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for golf
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. race — a contest
  21. kid — child
  22. last — to go on
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pound — for dogs

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