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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.

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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: band · saw · hide · can · bat · track · tear · shower

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. track — to keep track
  4. tear — from crying
  5. can — a tin
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. track — a path
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. saw — the tool
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — to rip
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. band — a music group
  14. saw — the tool
  15. shower — rain
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. track — a song
  23. can — a tin
  24. shower — to wash

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