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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 116 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 · present · bay · hand · coach · ground · rash · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fork — in a road
  8. ground — the earth
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. hand — help
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hand — in cards
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. present — the time now
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ground — a position
  19. present — there
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. rash — hasty
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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