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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 · bank · leaves · track · ball · toast · tear · march

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ball — a dance
  8. march — music
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. track — a song
  16. toast — bread
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. bank — for money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bank — for money
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bank — of a river

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