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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: bat · tear · track · pit · wind · mark · pass · stock

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. mark — a grade
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — the animal
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a path
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — a song
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a hole
  24. wind — to turn a key

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