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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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468
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: club · kick · clip · rush · current · rest · field · chair

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rest — a break
  4. field — for sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. club — for dancing
  11. current — happening now
  12. kick — in football
  13. current — electric
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. club — a group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. club — for golf
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rush — hurry
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. current — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. rest — what's left
  24. clip — to cut

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