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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: row · deal · bat · patient · staff · lean · straw · file

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bat — the animal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. row — a line
  6. deal — to handle
  7. file — a tool
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. lean — thin
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. file — a line of people
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. row — to paddle
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. staff — employees
  21. file — a document
  22. staff — a stick
  23. straw — dry grass
  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