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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: plane · race · snap · spring · racket · land · field · rest

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. land — ground
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — of water
  7. land — a country
  8. race — the arms race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — for sport
  14. spring — the season
  15. race — humankind
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rest — a break
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. snap — to click
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. plane — a tool

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