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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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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: cold · kid · racket · snap · fork · track · spell · staff

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. staff — employees
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cold — an illness
  8. spell — letters
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. track — a path
  18. staff — a stick
  19. snap — to click
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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