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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 · spring · prune · track · toast · hand · stock · nail

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. toast — bread
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. prune — to trim
  15. track — to keep track
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — a coil
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. bat — for baseball

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