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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: face · ground · roll · ball · bass · march · chair · jam

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. ball — a great time
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ground — crushed
  6. chair — a leader
  7. face — to confront
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bass — low music
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. march — the month
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. ground — the earth
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ball — a dance
  22. march — music
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. roll — a cake

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