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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: shower · roll · bat · mate · bank · temple · lean · cue

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cue — for pool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bank — for money
  7. roll — a list
  8. cue — a hint
  9. bank — for money
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mate — a friend
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cue — a signal
  20. roll — a cake
  21. shower — rain
  22. mate — to breed
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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