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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 116 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: mine · snap · craft · race · straw · fork

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. mine — for digging
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. craft — a skill
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. craft — boats
  16. race — humankind
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool

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