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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 120 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: bat · bear · field · hide · net · cue · track · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. net — for catching
  3. track — a path
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. bat — the animal
  14. track — to keep track
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bear — the animal
  17. track — a song
  18. tear — to rip
  19. net — in sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cue — a signal

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