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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: date · vault · snap · file · rash · net · stick · bank

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — after costs
  3. bank — of a river
  4. bank — for money
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. file — a line of people
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. bank — for money
  12. file — a document
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — in sport
  19. rash — a series
  20. vault — a safe
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. file — a tool
  24. net — for catching

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