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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: track · wind · mine · last · racket · rush · mouse · spell

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wind — moving air
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rush — hurry
  5. last — finally
  6. last — to go on
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. spell — a short time
  10. track — a path
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. track — a song
  14. spell — letters
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — magic
  24. racket — a loud noise

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