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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: mouse · track · kid · rule · march · staff

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. staff — employees
  3. track — a path
  4. kid — child
  5. staff — a stick
  6. kid — to tease
  7. track — a song
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. staff — employees
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. rule — government
  18. mouse — the animal

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