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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: fan · mark · rest · arm · bay · ground · bat · bowl

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. mark — a trace
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. ground — crushed
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — the earth
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ground — a position
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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