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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 120 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 · wind · rash · cue · pitcher · file · bank · land

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. file — a document
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. rash — a series
  7. land — a country
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cue — a hint
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bank — for money
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. cue — for pool
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cue — a signal
  18. file — a tool
  19. bank — of a river
  20. club — for golf
  21. bank — for money
  22. land — ground
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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