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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: jam · row · file · hand · kid · kick · club · fan

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. hand — help
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. row — a line
  8. file — a line of people
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. kid — to tease
  12. club — for golf
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. club — a group
  16. file — a document
  17. row — to paddle
  18. file — a tool
  19. kid — child
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. kick — in football
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. club — for dancing

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