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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 116 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 · clip · cell · cue · key · net · kid · club

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — a group
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. net — in sport
  7. club — for golf
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. key — in music
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — to cut
  16. key — the most important part
  17. net — after costs
  18. rush — hurry
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — child
  21. key — for a lock
  22. cue — for pool
  23. clip — a video
  24. club — for dancing

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