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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: pop · kid · prune · pit · bowl · ball · snap · bark

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pop — soda
  3. ball — a dance
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. kid — child
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. pop — to visit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pop — music
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a great time

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