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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: stick · date · game · snap · roll · club · bass · swing

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bass — low music
  11. roll — a cake
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. roll — a list
  17. swing — to play on
  18. snap — to click
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bass — the fish
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. club — for golf
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. game — a match

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