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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: present · bat · fine · court · root · lean · snap · file

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. file — a tool
  4. court — for sport
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bat — the animal
  8. lean — to bend
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — the cause
  11. fine — high quality
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. snap — to click
  14. fine — all right
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lean — thin
  19. file — a document
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. root — of a plant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — the time now

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