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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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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: ground · swing · snap · pound · hand · scale · face · coach

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. scale — size or range
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. hand — help
  6. swing — to play on
  7. snap — to click
  8. swing — in golf
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ground — the earth
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ground — crushed
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. swing — music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. face — to confront
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. scale — for weighing

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