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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: file · wind · bat · season · firm · march · lean · chip

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a tool
  3. bat — the animal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. season — in sport
  8. file — a document
  9. lean — to bend
  10. march — the month
  11. firm — decided
  12. lean — thin
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. firm — steady
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — for betting
  24. firm — a company

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