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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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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: ball · rest · race · wind · bass · club

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. race — the arms race
  6. rest — a break
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. race — a contest
  15. ball — a great time
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — humankind

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