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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: track · rush · kid · rock · clip · wound · net · club

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. net — after costs
  4. rock — a stone
  5. clip — to cut
  6. club — a group
  7. rock — music
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — to keep track
  11. club — for golf
  12. clip — a video
  13. track — a song
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. track — a path
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. net — for catching
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — hurry

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