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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: ball · staff · rush · bear · kick · fan · cold · track

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. staff — a stick
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bear — the animal
  7. staff — employees
  8. kick — in football
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — a path
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. ball — a great time
  16. staff — employees
  17. ball — a dance
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — a thrill

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