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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: can · ball · stem · tear · track · bat · rush · mine

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. track — a path
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — a song
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bat — the animal
  15. ball — a dance
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — to be able to
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. can — a tin
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. track — to keep track

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