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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: rash · snap · board · degree · spring · march · pound · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. board — to get on
  5. pound — a weight
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. board — a committee
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. club — for golf
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. spring — the season
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. club — a group
  20. rash — hasty
  21. degree — temperature
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — of water

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