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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: tear · fan · snap · staff · lean · stem · spell · march

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spell — letters
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. lean — thin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. snap — to click
  14. march — music
  15. staff — employees
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. spell — magic
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. staff — a stick
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. tear — from crying
  24. fan — to cool the air

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