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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: kid · staff · fan · wake · calf · lean · march · snap

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. lean — thin
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. march — music
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. lean — to bend
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. staff — employees
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wake — a trail
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. march — the month
  17. kid — child
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. staff — a stick
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. march — the month

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