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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: bound · snap · face · board · cold · race · field · foot

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  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. bound — certain
  2. snap — to click
  3. board — to get on
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. field — farmland
  17. race — the arms race
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. face — to confront
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bound — tied together
  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