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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: root · ground · snap · plane · band · nail · kid · race

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. kid — to tease
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ground — a position
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. band — a music group
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. root — of a plant
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — a contest
  17. plane — a tool
  18. root — the cause
  19. race — the arms race
  20. kid — child
  21. snap — to click
  22. band — a ring
  23. race — humankind
  24. root — of a word

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