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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: cell · snap · clip · rock · deal · kick · bark · dip

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. dip — to sink
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rock — music
  9. clip — a video
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. snap — to click
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. deal — to handle
  15. clip — to cut
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bark — to shout
  19. kick — in football
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. clip — for paper
  24. bark — of a tree

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