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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 116 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: rush · staff · kid · track · bat · pop · last · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. last — to go on
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pop — soda
  5. track — a song
  6. last — final
  7. staff — a stick
  8. staff — employees
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. firm — a company
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. firm — decided
  16. track — to keep track
  17. track — a path
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — to tease
  20. staff — employees
  21. pop — music
  22. pop — to visit
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. kid — child

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