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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. swing — to play on
  3. field — for sport
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bat — the animal
  7. swing — music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bass — low music
  11. bank — for money
  12. season — in sport
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bank — of a river
  15. swing — in golf
  16. field — a subject
  17. band — a ring
  18. bank — for money
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. face — to confront
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. band — a music group

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