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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. race — humankind
  5. cap — a hat
  6. current — electric
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. race — a contest
  10. bear — the animal
  11. field — farmland
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. snap — to click
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — a subject
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bear — the animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — of water
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cap — of ice

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