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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: bat · file · wake · row · spell · leaves · lean · spring

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. file — a document
  3. lean — to bend
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. spell — a short time
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. spell — magic
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. spring — of water
  14. row — a line
  15. bat — the animal
  16. spring — the season
  17. file — a tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. spring — a coil
  21. file — a line of people
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spell — letters

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