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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: lean · staff · clip · snap · march · trunk · row · roll

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — thin
  3. clip — for paper
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to click
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. roll — a cake
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — to cut
  13. march — music
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. roll — a list
  17. march — the month
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. march — the month
  20. clip — a video
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. staff — a stick
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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