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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: mine · firm · rush · track · kid · row · pop · wind

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. firm — decided
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pop — music
  8. track — a song
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — a line
  12. pop — soda
  13. rush — hurry
  14. pop — to visit
  15. track — to keep track
  16. firm — a company
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. track — a path
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mine — for digging
  23. firm — steady
  24. row — to paddle

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