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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 116 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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Word bank
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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 · land · shower · sharp · can · kid · ground · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. can — a tin
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. ground — a position
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bear — the animal
  12. kid — child
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — a country
  17. ground — the earth
  18. snap — to click
  19. sharp — clever
  20. land — ground
  21. ground — crushed
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — to be able to
  24. land — to come down

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