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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: track · kick · hand · fan · field · cue · club · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. track — to keep track
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — a group
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. track — a song
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. field — for sport
  14. cue — a signal
  15. hand — help
  16. cue — for pool
  17. club — for dancing
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — in football
  20. cue — a hint
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. track — a path

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