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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: staff · rush · tear · bat · last · cell · bear · land

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. last — to go on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. staff — employees
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. rush — hurry
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. staff — a stick
  13. staff — employees
  14. land — ground
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bear — the animal
  17. last — finally
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. last — final
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bear — the animal

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