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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.

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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: board · racket · bat · lash · field · tear · rash · chair

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — a subject
  15. board — a committee
  16. rash — a series
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — for sport
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. board — to get on
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. lash — an eyelash

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