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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 116 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: bat · rule · staff · hand · lean · spell · present · snap

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. present — there
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — government
  6. hand — help
  7. present — a gift
  8. snap — to click
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. spell — a short time
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lean — to bend
  14. staff — employees
  15. spell — magic
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. staff — employees
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. present — the time now
  22. lean — thin
  23. hand — part of the body
  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