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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: hand · net · snap · cap · shower · coach · file · bound

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a document
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. hand — help
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. file — a line of people
  15. net — after costs
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bound — certain
  20. cap — a hat
  21. bound — tied together
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a tool
  24. coach — a trainer

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