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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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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 · bat · mine · file · kick · kid · press

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. staff — a stick
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. kid — to tease
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. press — newspapers
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. press — to push
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rush — hurry
  23. file — a line of people
  24. kick — in football

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