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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: lean · stand · bark · ball · scale · file · spring · snap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lean — to bend
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ball — a dance
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. spring — a coil
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — of water
  16. lean — thin
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stand — to bear
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. scale — in music
  23. spring — the season
  24. file — a document

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