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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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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: chair · rash · hide · can · fan · game · mark · bat

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. rash — hasty
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. rash — a series
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. can — to be able to
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mark — a grade
  17. can — a tin
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. game — wild animals
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. game — a match
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mark — a trace

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