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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: staff · fan · march · file · last · tear · bat · lean

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. march — the month
  3. last — final
  4. file — a tool
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. file — a document
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lean — to bend
  16. last — to go on
  17. march — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — thin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. last — finally
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — to rest against

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