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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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Word bank
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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: straw · pop · bound · race · snap · swing · nail · march

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — humankind
  4. march — the month
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. snap — to click
  7. swing — music
  8. march — music
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pop — to visit
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — certain
  16. swing — in golf
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bound — obliged
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — music
  24. swing — to play on

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