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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · race · spring · content · bass · pitch · squash · chair

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. chair — a leader
  10. spring — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bass — low music
  14. race — the arms race
  15. race — humankind
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. spring — a coil
  22. pitch — completely
  23. spring — of water
  24. race — a contest

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