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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: bass · kid · bore · season · club · squash · game · ground

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — child
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. club — for golf
  5. season — of the year
  6. bass — the fish
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ground — a position
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — the earth
  11. game — wild animals
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — in sport
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. squash — the sport
  18. game — a match
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. squash — to crush

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