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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 · bat · march · can · track · club · tear · game

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — wild animals
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for dancing
  7. track — a path
  8. club — for golf
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. track — to keep track
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. club — a group
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. track — a song
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. can — a tin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. game — a match
  22. can — to be able to
  23. march — music
  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