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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: bat · mark · rash · wake · can · file · degree · chip

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wake — a trail
  4. file — a line of people
  5. can — a tin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rash — hasty
  11. mark — a trace
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a tool
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. chip — for betting
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — an amount
  18. can — a tin
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chip — to eat
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mark — a grade
  23. rash — a series
  24. file — a document

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