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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 120 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: lean · pass · field · bear · race · bat · nail · staff

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lean — thin
  3. staff — employees
  4. bear — the animal
  5. race — humankind
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — for sport
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. pass — a permit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. lean — to bend
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. staff — employees

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