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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 120 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
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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: mark · straw · rash · cell · bowl · bat · game · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. rash — a series
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. mug — to rob
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mug — a cup
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. mark — a grade
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. mark — a trace

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