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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 120 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: tear · kid · snap · squash · ball · tube

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a dance
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. tube — the underground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tube — a container
  8. ball — a great time
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kid — to tease
  11. squash — the sport
  12. kid — child
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. tear — to rip
  18. snap — to click

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