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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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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: safe · race · pass · tube · march · lash · snap · field

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. field — for sport
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — the month
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — music
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. race — a contest
  15. field — a subject
  16. pass — a permit
  17. race — humankind
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — the underground
  21. race — the arms race
  22. march — the month
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. lash — an eyelash

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