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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: board · squash · present · file · staff · fine · lean · bat

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. lean — thin
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. squash — the sport
  8. board — to get on
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fine — all right
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — employees
  16. board — a committee
  17. fine — high quality
  18. squash — to crush
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. lean — to bend
  21. file — a line of people
  22. present — there
  23. present — the time now
  24. file — a tool

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