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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 120 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: fork · race · firm · snap · wound · sharp

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. race — a contest
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wound — an injury
  9. race — humankind
  10. fork — in a road
  11. firm — steady
  12. firm — a company
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. firm — decided

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