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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: snap · content · plane · bat · lean · bark · file · present

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. present — there
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. present — the time now
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. content — happy
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to bend
  13. plane — a tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. present — a gift
  16. file — a tool
  17. bark — to shout
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bat — the animal
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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