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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: spring · kid · chest · bank · bark · snap · cap · bowl

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. snap — to click
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. cap — a lid
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bank — of a river
  16. spring — the season
  17. chest — a box
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bank — for money
  23. kid — child
  24. spring — of water

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