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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 116 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 · fork · race · last · swing · spring · cap · bay

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cap — a lid
  7. last — finally
  8. snap — to click
  9. spring — the season
  10. cap — a hat
  11. swing — to play on
  12. last — to go on
  13. cap — of ice
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fork — in a road
  16. race — a contest
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. last — final
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. swing — music
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. swing — in golf

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