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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 120 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: squash · pound · snap · key · band · game · scale · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. key — the most important part
  4. squash — to crush
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — for a lock
  7. squash — the sport
  8. pound — a weight
  9. scale — in music
  10. key — in music
  11. snap — to click
  12. ground — crushed
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. game — a match
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. ground — the earth
  23. scale — size or range
  24. game — wild animals

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