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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: bowl · march · season · mug · face · hand · mine · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. season — of the year
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — for digging
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mug — a cup
  9. face — part of the head
  10. bass — low music
  11. mug — a face
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. march — music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — help
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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