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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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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: kid · snap · pop · field · stock · race · spring · suit

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. snap — to click
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — for sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. kid — child
  9. stock — goods
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. suit — clothes
  14. race — humankind
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — music
  17. race — a contest
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. field — a subject
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. suit — to fit

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