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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 116 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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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 · mine · chip · stick · last · track · spell · rush

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. track — to keep track
  6. club — for golf
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. track — a path
  12. last — finally
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. track — a song
  15. spell — magic
  16. last — to go on
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chip — to eat
  19. spell — letters
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mine — for digging
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. club — a group

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