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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: bank · prune · straw · content · stick · last · race · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. last — final
  3. bank — for money
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. race — humankind
  6. content — the amount
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bank — for money
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. last — finally
  19. race — a contest
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bank — of a river
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. prune — to trim

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