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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · wound · bat · date · object · mark · rest · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mark — a grade
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. object — an aim
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. date — the fruit
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — to protest
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. object — a thing
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rest — a break
  24. rash — a series

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