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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: season · key · fork · present · bass · kid · net · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. season — of the year
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — for catching
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. rock — a stone
  7. present — there
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bass — the fish
  10. key — in music
  11. net — in sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. present — a gift
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. kid — child
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bass — low music
  22. key — the most important part
  23. present — the time now
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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