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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: race · rock · pass · rash · ball · toast · bat · game

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rock — music
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. race — humankind
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bat — the animal
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. pass — a permit
  22. rash — a series
  23. race — a contest
  24. pass — to spend time

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