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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: bass · bark · can · cold · rock · snap · pound · bear

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. can — a tin
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rock — a stone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rock — music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bear — the animal
  19. can — to be able to
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. snap — to click
  22. bark — to shout
  23. can — a tin
  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