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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: rest · file · spring · snap · leaves · face · row · march

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. file — a tool
  3. face — to point toward
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a document
  9. face — part of the head
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. face — to confront
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. march — music
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spring — the season
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rest — what's left
  23. file — a line of people
  24. row — a quarrel

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