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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: band · march · ball · bass · game · mate · fan · pitch

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. ball — a great time
  3. game — a match
  4. march — music
  5. mate — a friend
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pitch — completely
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bass — the fish
  13. game — wild animals
  14. march — the month
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — low music
  18. march — the month
  19. mate — to breed
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. mate — a partner
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ball — a dance

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