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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 116 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: cap · club · march · ball · drill · rock · suit · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. suit — in cards
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a match
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rock — music
  11. march — music
  12. suit — clothes
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cap — of ice
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. club — for dancing
  21. rock — a stone
  22. suit — to fit
  23. cap — a lid
  24. drill — army training

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