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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: object · snap · race · spring · last · key · ball · wound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. key — for a lock
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. wound — an injury
  6. object — to protest
  7. last — final
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. object — a thing
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. last — to go on
  12. spring — of water
  13. key — in music
  14. spring — a coil
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spring — the season
  19. object — an aim
  20. race — the arms race
  21. key — the most important part
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a great time
  24. last — finally

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