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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: cold · stand · staff · bat · track · last · rash · current

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rash — hasty
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. staff — employees
  5. track — a path
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — a song
  12. last — finally
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stand — to bear
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rash — a series
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — to go on
  24. staff — a stick

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