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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: rock · tear · march · lean · stem · squash · fan · spell

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. march — the month
  3. squash — the sport
  4. march — music
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. spell — magic
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spell — letters
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. march — the month
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rock — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — to rip

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