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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: rest · racket · wind · date · staff · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. rest — what's left
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. staff — employees
  5. rest — a break
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. staff — a stick
  9. date — the fruit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — employees
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wind — moving air

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