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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: rush · jam · wax · bass · season · hand · lie · field

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bass — low music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rush — hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. field — farmland
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. field — a subject
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. lie — to recline
  23. wax — to grow
  24. field — for sport

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