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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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Word bank
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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: row · band · bark · snap · can · clip · sharp · kid

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. can — to be able to
  4. band — a music group
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. can — a tin
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. clip — for paper
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bark — to shout
  11. can — a tin
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. sharp — clever
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. band — a ring
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. snap — to click
  22. row — a line
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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