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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: snap · fork · chair · kid · bear · last

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bear — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. fork — in a road
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kid — child
  10. bear — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. snap — to click
  16. kid — to tease
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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