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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: season · bass · spring · game · dip · object · wave · hand

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. object — a thing
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. game — a match
  7. spring — of water
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. spring — the season
  10. game — wild animals
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. hand — help
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — to protest
  15. spring — a coil
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. dip — a sauce

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