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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: fork · race · snap · board · trunk · bat · fan · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. board — a committee
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fork — in a road
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — music
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. board — to get on
  23. pop — soda
  24. race — the arms race

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