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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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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 · bat · mark · can · chair · pitch · fall · track

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rash — a series
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. track — a path
  10. can — a tin
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. track — a song
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — to be able to
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mark — a grade
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. fall — to drop
  20. track — to keep track
  21. mark — a trace
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fall — the season

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