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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: staff · jam · face · wave · field · bass · hand · season

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. staff — employees
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. face — to point toward
  5. field — a subject
  6. season — in sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. face — to confront
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. face — part of the head
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. field — farmland
  18. hand — in cards
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. season — of the year
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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