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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: bear · kick · pop · pitcher · kid · straw · club · snap

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pop — to visit
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. club — for dancing
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bear — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pop — music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. pop — soda
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kid — child
  24. kick — in football

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