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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: fall · season · club · rash · scale · pound · pitcher · bass

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. season — of the year
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bass — low music
  12. scale — in music
  13. club — for dancing
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. season — in sport
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rash — a series
  24. pound — to hit hard

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