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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: lean · bat · last · leaves · wind · content · band · staff

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — a stick
  4. last — to go on
  5. band — a ring
  6. staff — employees
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — the amount
  9. last — finally
  10. staff — employees
  11. lean — thin
  12. last — final
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — happy
  15. bat — the animal
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. band — a music group
  21. lean — to bend
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wind — moving 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