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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 120 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: track · rush · bat · hand · bay · chest · hide · current

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. rush — hurry
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. current — happening now
  10. chest — a box
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. current — of water
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. current — electric
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bat — 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