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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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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: bat · game · race · snap · spell · pop · craft · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. race — a contest
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pop — soda
  7. game — wild animals
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pop — to visit
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — music
  13. craft — a skill
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fork — in a road
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bat — the animal
  22. craft — boats
  23. race — humankind
  24. spell — magic

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