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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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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: field · snap · chair · kick · race · plane · branch · tear

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chair — a leader
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. plane — a tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. kick — in football
  13. snap — to click
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. branch — a division
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. race — humankind
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chair — a professorship

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