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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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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 · track · hand · bay · sharp · spring · date · rush

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. sharp — clever
  8. date — the fruit
  9. track — a path
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spring — of water
  20. track — a song
  21. spring — a coil
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — hurry
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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