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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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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: deal · band · club · wind · net · season · kick · cue

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — of the year
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. net — for catching
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. net — in sport
  15. club — for dancing
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cue — a signal
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. kick — in football
  21. band — a ring
  22. season — in sport
  23. cue — a hint
  24. deal — a big deal

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