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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: roll · snap · bark · root · bat · bear · kid · lean

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. lean — thin
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. root — the cause
  13. snap — to click
  14. root — of a word
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bear — the animal
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bat — the animal
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. roll — a cake
  22. lean — to bend
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — for baseball

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