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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 120 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: march · bass · season · coach · wound · cabinet · bore · stem

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. season — of the year
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — low music
  13. march — the month
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bore — to tire
  21. season — in sport
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stem — to come from

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