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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: club · pitch · bass · spring · pop · season · game · drill

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bass — low music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. season — in sport
  7. spring — of water
  8. game — wild animals
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. pitch — completely
  13. pop — music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. club — a group
  16. drill — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — of the year
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bass — the fish
  23. drill — a practice
  24. club — for golf

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