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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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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 · club · shower · kid · wake · chip · deal · net

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. club — a group
  5. net — for catching
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rush — hurry
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. club — for golf
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. net — after costs
  13. club — for dancing
  14. deal — to handle
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wake — a trail
  20. net — in sport
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chip — to eat
  23. shower — rain
  24. chip — for betting

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