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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: kid · snap · bear · club · land · dip · rock · file

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. land — a country
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. club — for dancing
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bear — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. club — for golf
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — child
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rock — a stone
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. rock — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. club — a group
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rock — to move gently

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