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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: rash · file · spring · snap · shower · dip · bank · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bank — for money
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a document
  9. snap — to click
  10. bank — for money
  11. file — a tool
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — hasty
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rash — a series
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — of water
  18. bank — of a river
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. spring — the season
  21. chest — of your body
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. file — a line of people
  24. dip — a sauce

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