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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: hand · club · rash · firm · key · racket · stock · clip

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. club — a group
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. rash — a series
  8. firm — a company
  9. stock — goods
  10. clip — to cut
  11. club — for golf
  12. stock — shares
  13. key — the most important part
  14. rash — hasty
  15. clip — a video
  16. firm — steady
  17. hand — in cards
  18. key — in music
  19. firm — decided
  20. hand — help
  21. clip — for paper
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. key — for a lock

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