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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: wave · firm · cold · club · key · ball · season · pitch

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. firm — decided
  11. firm — steady
  12. key — in music
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. club — for golf
  16. key — for a lock
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. key — the most important part
  19. season — of the year
  20. club — a group
  21. season — in sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. firm — a company
  24. pitch — completely

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