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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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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: snap · race · march · season · kid · saw · net · racket

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. kid — to tease
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. march — the month
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. march — music
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — child
  17. season — of the year
  18. net — after costs
  19. saw — the tool
  20. net — in sport
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to click
  23. net — for catching
  24. march — the month

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