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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: toast · bat · band · pitch · file · ball · stand · rash

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. file — a tool
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. ball — a great time
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stand — to bear
  7. band — a music group
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. rash — hasty
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rash — a series
  18. pitch — completely
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. file — a document
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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