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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 · degree · bank · staff · pound · lean · bass · game

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. staff — employees
  3. lean — thin
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bank — for money
  6. staff — a stick
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bat — the animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. game — wild animals
  15. staff — employees
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. game — a match
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bank — for money
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. bass — low music
  24. degree — an amount

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