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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: club · craft · wound · band · bark · key · net · kick

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. club — a group
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. band — a music group
  5. craft — a skill
  6. net — in sport
  7. key — the most important part
  8. club — for dancing
  9. craft — boats
  10. band — a ring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. key — in music
  14. bark — to shout
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. net — after costs
  19. kick — in football
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — for catching
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. club — for golf
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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