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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: key · tear · track · rash · hide · bat · ball · net

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. key — the most important part
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. net — in sport
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rash — hasty
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. track — a song
  14. tear — to rip
  15. net — after costs
  16. track — to keep track
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a great time
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. key — in music
  23. net — for catching
  24. rash — a series

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