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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: last · object · cap · track · kid · staff · row · chest

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. last — final
  3. chest — a box
  4. object — to protest
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. row — to paddle
  8. staff — a stick
  9. object — an aim
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cap — of ice
  12. kid — child
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — finally
  15. staff — employees
  16. object — a thing
  17. last — to go on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. track — a path
  20. chest — of your body
  21. staff — employees
  22. track — a song
  23. row — a line
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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