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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 · cue · cold · file · bass · bank · foot · bat

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bass — low music
  4. bank — for money
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lean — to bend
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. lean — thin
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. cold — an illness
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a document
  24. file — 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