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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: march · tear · bat · mug · net · race · shower · cell

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. mug — a cup
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. march — music
  7. race — humankind
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. net — for catching
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mug — a face
  17. net — after costs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tear — to rip
  21. race — a contest
  22. mug — to rob
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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