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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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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: fall · net · kid · tear · mate · pitcher · rock · track

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — a path
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rock — music
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — in sport
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mate — a partner
  11. fall — to drop
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. track — a song
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — after costs
  18. fall — the season
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mate — a friend
  24. track — to keep track

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