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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: arm · bass · wound · rest · straw · pitch · club · game

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. bass — low music
  4. rest — a break
  5. club — for dancing
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitch — completely
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — wild animals
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. game — a match
  24. straw — a straw man

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