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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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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: prune · file · rest · clip · rock · charge · shower · snap

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. prune — to trim
  3. charge — electricity
  4. file — a tool
  5. clip — to cut
  6. charge — in control
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. prune — to trim
  10. file — a line of people
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a document
  13. shower — to wash
  14. snap — to click
  15. clip — a video
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rock — a stone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rock — music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. rest — what's left
  22. shower — rain
  23. rest — a break
  24. charge — a price

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