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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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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: mate · snap · stick · bass · prune · file · shower · bank

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bass — low music
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — to breed
  10. file — a tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bank — of a river
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bank — for money
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. mate — a partner
  24. bank — for money

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