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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 · mouse · wave · march · game · shower · band · pitch

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. club — for golf
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. club — a group
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. game — a match
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitch — completely
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. club — for dancing
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — to wash
  24. band — a ring

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