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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 116 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: pitch · content · wake · cell · present · club · bass · game

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. club — for dancing
  3. present — there
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. game — a match
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — wild animals
  12. present — a gift
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. club — a group
  17. bass — the fish
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bass — low music
  22. present — the time now
  23. cell — in biology
  24. club — for golf

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