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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: content · bass · leaves · club · file · bat · cold · wind

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. content — the amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a document
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wind — moving air
  10. file — a line of people
  11. content — happy
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. file — a tool
  19. club — a group
  20. bass — low music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. club — for golf
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. leaves — of a tree

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