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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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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: kid · lash · band · track · kick · wake · staff · bat

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. track — a song
  3. staff — employees
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — to tease
  6. band — a ring
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. staff — employees
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. track — a path
  23. kick — in football
  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