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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: wake · fan · bat · rush · game · bay · band · dip

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. game — a match
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. dip — to sink
  7. band — a music group
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rush — hurry
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. band — a ring
  19. bat — the animal
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. game — wild animals

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