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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: track · club · rock · season · squash · spring · rash · scale

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — of water
  3. club — a group
  4. track — a path
  5. season — in sport
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — size or range
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rash — hasty
  10. season — of the year
  11. club — for golf
  12. track — a song
  13. squash — the sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. squash — to crush
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. rash — a series
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rock — a stone
  22. club — for dancing
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. scale — in music

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