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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wake · tear · leaves · bat · game · date · band · court

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of law
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — the animal
  10. game — wild animals
  11. band — a ring
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. court — for sport
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. band — a music group
  20. wake — a trail
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. date — the fruit
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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