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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: bowl · band · rash · mark · kick · snap · bat · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rash — a series
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — the animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. mark — a trace
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. snap — to click
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. mark — a grade
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. band — a ring
  22. rash — hasty
  23. game — wild animals
  24. kick — a thrill

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