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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 · hand · shower · bear · bulb · deal · kid · ball

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. ball — a dance
  3. hand — help
  4. deal — to handle
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bulb — for light
  14. snap — to click
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. kid — to tease
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. kid — child
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. ball — a great time
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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