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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: deal · hand · bark · snap · kid · charge · drill · wake

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  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. hand — help
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. charge — a price
  4. deal — to handle
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. drill — army training
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. charge — electricity
  12. drill — the tool
  13. bark — to shout
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — in cards
  21. drill — a practice
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. charge — in control
  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