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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: pop · hide · kid · stick · mate · snap · bear · bound

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. mate — to breed
  3. snap — to click
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mate — a friend
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bear — the animal
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pop — music
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bound — obliged
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. kid — child
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. bound — tied together
  21. bear — the animal
  22. pop — soda
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bound — certain

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