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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: snap · ground · stem · kid · swing · bark · field · fine

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fine — high quality
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. swing — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — for sport
  9. snap — to click
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. kid — to tease
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. ground — a position
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bark — to shout
  22. field — a subject
  23. swing — in golf
  24. kid — child

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