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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: mark · rock · current · rash · club · clip · wind · kid

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mark — a trace
  4. clip — to cut
  5. club — a group
  6. rock — a stone
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — child
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rash — a series
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. current — electric
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. kid — to tease
  21. clip — for paper
  22. club — for golf
  23. current — happening now
  24. mark — a grade

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