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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: date · bat · roll · pound · track · tear · wax · scale

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. track — a path
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. tear — from crying
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — the animal
  9. scale — in music
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. roll — a cake
  12. track — a song
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. scale — size or range
  17. pound — a weight
  18. tear — to rip
  19. roll — a list
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bat — for baseball

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