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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: kid · snap · stick · dip · field · face · fork · coach

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. face — to confront
  5. snap — to click
  6. kid — child
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — for sport
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. fork — in a road
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. face — part of the head
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kid — to tease
  24. face — to point toward

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