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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: trunk · bass · fine · rush · wind · squash · season · spell

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bass — low music
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fine — all right
  5. rush — hurry
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. squash — the sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. squash — to crush
  14. season — in sport
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spell — magic
  21. fine — high quality
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — a short time
  24. trunk — of a tree

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