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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: snap · race · wind · bore · nail · degree · field · kid

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. bore — to drill
  3. degree — an amount
  4. field — farmland
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — a subject
  11. snap — to click
  12. degree — from a university
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. race — a contest
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — moving air
  24. nail — on a finger

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