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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: race · snap · pound · row · face · lean · wake · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. face — part of the head
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pound — a weight
  6. lean — to bend
  7. key — the most important part
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. snap — to click
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. face — to point toward
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. race — humankind
  19. row — to paddle
  20. race — a contest
  21. lean — thin
  22. row — a line
  23. wake — a trail
  24. key — in music

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