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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: file · saw · snap · pop · chest · root · wake · prune

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. root — the cause
  8. pop — soda
  9. root — of a plant
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. file — a tool
  14. pop — to visit
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. root — of a word
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wake — a trail
  20. file — a line of people
  21. prune — to trim
  22. snap — to click
  23. saw — the tool
  24. file — a document

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