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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: snap · face · nail · hand · race · racket · field · plane

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — a tool
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hand — help
  9. face — to confront
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. face — to point toward
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hand — in cards
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. face — part of the head
  19. race — the arms race
  20. snap — to click
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — farmland
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. field — for sport

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