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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 · rush · fan · hand · wake · kid · suit · march

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. club — for dancing
  3. march — music
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. club — for golf
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. suit — clothes
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. suit — to fit
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. club — a group
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — child
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — a supporter

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