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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: content · file · last · deal · march · snap · dip · bank

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. last — final
  3. snap — to click
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — finally
  7. bank — for money
  8. file — a document
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. deal — to handle
  14. last — to go on
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bank — for money
  17. content — the amount
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bank — of a river
  20. content — happy
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. file — a tool
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. march — the month

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