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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: toast · field · racket · bore · race · perch · snap · drill

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. toast — bread
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — the fish
  5. drill — army training
  6. field — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — a subject
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. race — a contest
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. drill — a practice
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bore — to drill
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. bore — to tire
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. field — farmland
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. drill — the 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