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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: ground · cell · band · snap · fork · tear

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ground — crushed
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — a position
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. snap — to click
  12. cell — a phone
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. fork — in a road
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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