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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: track · chest · pass · lie · net · tear · pop · hand

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. pop — soda
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. track — a song
  7. chest — a box
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pop — to visit
  11. net — for catching
  12. tear — to rip
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hand — help
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lie — to recline
  18. pass — a permit
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pop — music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — in sport

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