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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: bound · track · mark · face · bat · tear · stem · patient

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bound — certain
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mark — a grade
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. face — to confront
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. track — a path
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bound — tied together
  16. track — a song
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mark — a trace
  23. face — to point toward
  24. face — part of the head

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