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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: march · season · cue · lash · spring · rock · band · coach

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. season — in sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. band — a ring
  5. spring — of water
  6. rock — a stone
  7. band — a music group
  8. spring — a coil
  9. march — the month
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. spring — the season
  19. cue — a hint
  20. march — music
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a signal
  23. march — the month
  24. lash — an eyelash

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