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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. field — farmland
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spell — magic
  5. field — a subject
  6. can — a tin
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. prune — to trim
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — humankind
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. can — a tin
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. can — to be able to
  21. prune — to trim
  22. vault — a safe
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. race — a contest

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