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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: bat · trunk · bass · staff · jam · season · lie · spring

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. staff — employees
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. bass — low music
  10. lie — to recline
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. staff — employees
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. season — in sport
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — a coil
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bass — the fish
  24. season — of the year

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