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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: fan · lean · row · cell · spring · foot · saw · snap

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cell — in biology
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — the season
  5. saw — the tool
  6. foot — a measure
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — thin
  9. spring — of water
  10. row — a line
  11. snap — to click
  12. lean — to bend
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spring — a coil
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fan — a supporter

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