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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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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: bat · deal · race · mark · toast · rash · band · wax

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. band — a ring
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. toast — bread
  6. race — the arms race
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. mark — a grade
  11. rash — hasty
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a music group
  14. race — humankind
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mark — a trace
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. deal — an agreement

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