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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 · staff · wave · bear · season · hand · cell · coach

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. staff — employees
  3. season — in sport
  4. staff — a stick
  5. season — of the year
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bass — the fish
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bass — low music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in biology
  21. staff — employees
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bass — the instrument

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