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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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Word bank
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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: wake · snap · field · rush · ball · fork

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. ball — a great time
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. field — a subject
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — for sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — a trail
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. ball — a dance

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