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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: rash · kick · stand · chip · club · chest · date · spring

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. spring — the season
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. date — the fruit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — of water
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. rash — hasty
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chip — for betting
  18. stand — to bear
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chest — a box
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chip — to eat
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. club — for golf

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