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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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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: field · bat · cell · object · wake · mate · tear · jam

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. object — to protest
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. tear — from crying
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. mate — to breed
  11. field — farmland
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — a subject
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wake — a trail
  16. field — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bat — the animal
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — an aim
  24. mate — a partner

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