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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: wave · snap · cap · bark · lean · kid · race · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. cap — a hat
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. snap — to click
  16. race — the arms race
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. kid — child
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cap — a lid
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — of ice
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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