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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: bass · club · wax · season · coach · root · land · last

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — the fish
  5. land — to come down
  6. club — for dancing
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — finally
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. root — the cause
  14. land — a country
  15. last — final
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. root — of a word
  18. last — to go on
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — low music
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wax — to grow

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