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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 120 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: tear · kid · snap · squash · ball · tube · track · bark

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. track — a song
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ball — a great time
  6. tear — to rip
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. snap — to click
  9. kid — to tease
  10. squash — to crush
  11. track — to keep track
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — the sport
  14. track — a path
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. kid — child
  17. tube — a container
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ball — a dance
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tear — from crying
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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