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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: bat · file · straw · lash · jam · lean · plane · stick

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. lean — to bend
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. file — a tool
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — thin
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a document
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. plane — a tool

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