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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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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: hand · march · bat · bass · pitcher · bulb · leaves · club

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bass — the fish
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bat — the animal
  13. march — music
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. hand — help
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bass — low music
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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