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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 · race · land · snap · press · swing · key · date

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. key — the most important part
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. swing — in golf
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. key — for a lock
  9. race — humankind
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. press — newspapers
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — the earth
  14. land — to come down
  15. key — in music
  16. press — to push
  17. land — a country
  18. date — the fruit
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — music
  21. ground — a position
  22. press — a publisher
  23. race — the arms race
  24. ground — crushed

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