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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 120 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: staff · rest · snap · ground · board · race · spell · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. board — a committee
  3. pit — in a race
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spell — magic
  6. rest — what's left
  7. staff — a stick
  8. race — humankind
  9. snap — to click
  10. spell — letters
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ground — a position
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. staff — employees
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. staff — employees
  20. board — to get on
  21. rest — a break
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — a contest
  24. ground — the earth

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