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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: bat · date · racket · foot · tube · march · can · tear

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. march — the month
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. march — music
  9. tube — the underground
  10. can — a tin
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — to be able to
  18. tear — to rip
  19. foot — a measure
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — the month
  24. tear — from crying

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