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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: coach · staff · plane · bat · kid · lean · file · scale

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. lean — to bend
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. file — a line of people
  8. scale — size or range
  9. staff — a stick
  10. lean — thin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. staff — employees
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — a tool
  24. file — a tool

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