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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: fork · nail · ground · pitch · deal · snap · wax · kid

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. snap — to click
  7. ground — a position
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. kid — child
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pitch — completely
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ground — the earth
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. deal — to handle

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