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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: bat · bank · sharp · tear · ball · trunk · wax · track

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. track — to keep track
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. wax — to grow
  8. sharp — clever
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bank — of a river
  14. tear — to rip
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ball — a dance
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bank — for money
  23. track — a song
  24. sharp — with an edge

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