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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: snap · bark · bass · calf · kid · cap · tube · club

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. club — for dancing
  4. kid — to tease
  5. club — for golf
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bass — the fish
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bass — low music
  16. tube — the underground
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. club — a group
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. cap — a lid
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. kid — child

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