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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: last · board · snap · racket · chest · field

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — a box
  12. board — a committee
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. last — final
  18. board — to get on

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