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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: safe · file · lean · chair · snap · plane · tear · net

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. plane — a tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. net — for catching
  6. lean — thin
  7. file — a tool
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to click
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lean — to bend
  14. file — a document
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. file — a line of people
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — in sport
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. safe — out of danger

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