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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: kick · club · stand · wind · rule · pop · racket · scale

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wind — moving air
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rule — government
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rule — a law
  7. pop — to visit
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pop — soda
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — for dancing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. pop — music
  14. stand — to bear
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. scale — in music
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kick — in football
  24. club — a group

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