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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. track — a path
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — for sport
  9. tear — to rip
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. content — happy
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pass — a permit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. track — a song
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. court — of a king
  23. content — the amount
  24. court — of law

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