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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: hand · bass · jam · swing · season · stem · last · face

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. face — to confront
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — of the year
  8. hand — help
  9. face — to point toward
  10. swing — in golf
  11. last — finally
  12. bass — the fish
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — in cards
  15. swing — to play on
  16. season — in sport
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. last — final
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. swing — music
  23. face — part of the head
  24. season — to add flavour

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