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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: game · season · bass · swing · coach · branch · hand · lash

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. swing — to play on
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. season — in sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bass — low music
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. branch — a division
  15. bass — the fish
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. hand — help
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. swing — music
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. branch — 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