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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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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: cap · field · snap · race · nail · rock · leaves · kid

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — a contest
  3. rock — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. kid — child
  7. snap — to click
  8. cap — a lid
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rock — a stone
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cap — of ice
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. race — humankind
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. cap — a hat
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. kid — to tease
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. nail — on a finger

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