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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 · squash · wind · kid · ball · snap · bark · can

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bark — to shout
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. can — to be able to
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bear — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ball — a dance
  24. wind — moving air

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