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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: cap · trunk · field · bat · cabinet · plane · pitcher · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. field — for sport
  4. tear — to rip
  5. plane — a tool
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cap — a hat
  15. field — farmland
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — a subject
  24. cap — a lid

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