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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: file · lean · drill · perch · press · bat · wax · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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. spell — magic
  2. press — to push
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lean — thin
  5. press — a publisher
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spell — a short time
  9. drill — a practice
  10. lean — to bend
  11. drill — army training
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spell — letters
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bat — the animal
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a tool
  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