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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: mouse · race · field · snap · kick · fork

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. snap — to click
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. field — farmland
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kick — in football

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