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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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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: pound · spring · key · race · content · face · kick · nail

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. key — in music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. key — the most important part
  7. race — the arms race
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to confront
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. content — the amount
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. race — humankind
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kick — in football
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. face — to point toward
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — happy

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