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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: stick · snap · season · race · wound · hand · face · suit

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. season — of the year
  4. suit — clothes
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — humankind
  8. season — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hand — help
  11. race — a contest
  12. wound — an injury
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — part of the head
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — to fit
  23. face — to point toward
  24. hand — in cards

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