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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kick · club · rush · file · wax · ball · content · rest

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. club — for golf
  6. wax — to grow
  7. club — a group
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rest — what's left
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a line of people
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a tool
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. kick — in football
  22. ball — a great time
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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