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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 · net · rash · pitcher · current · ground · rush · date

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. club — for golf
  3. net — in sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. club — a group
  6. current — of water
  7. net — for catching
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. current — electric
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — for dancing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. rash — hasty
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. date — the fruit
  20. ground — a position
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. current — happening now
  24. rash — a series

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