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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 · coach · race · bat · last · firm · plane

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bass — the fish
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. plane — a tool
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — humankind
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. season — of the year
  16. race — a contest
  17. firm — a company
  18. firm — steady
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. season — in sport
  22. race — the arms race
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bat — for baseball

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