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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: mark · chest · present · hand · bass · pitch · club · spring

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — there
  3. pitch — completely
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — a gift
  7. spring — of water
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. spring — the season
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. hand — in cards
  19. club — for golf
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. mark — a grade
  23. hand — help
  24. present — the time now

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