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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: club · bass · content · mouse · rash · squash · spring · drill

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bass — the fish
  4. content — happy
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. club — for golf
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. drill — army training
  16. spring — of water
  17. club — a group
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. rash — hasty
  24. drill — a practice

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