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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. track — a path
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. net — for catching
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. net — after costs
  9. stem — to come from
  10. swing — to play on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. swing — in golf
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. track — a song
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. track — to keep track
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. squash — the sport

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