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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: straw · can · mate · stem · bat · tear · racket · last

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — finally
  4. mate — a friend
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. last — to go on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. can — a tin
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — final
  13. bat — the animal
  14. can — to be able to
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. can — a tin
  23. mate — to breed
  24. straw — dry grass

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