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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 · kick · clip · bowl · squash · hand · kid · nail

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to click
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. kid — to tease
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. kid — child
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. hand — help
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. clip — a video
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — for paper
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — in cards
  24. squash — the sport

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