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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rush · cell · season · degree · suit · coach · last · bass

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bass — low music
  4. last — finally
  5. cell — a phone
  6. last — to go on
  7. bass — the fish
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. degree — from a university
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. degree — temperature
  15. suit — clothes
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in biology
  18. season — in sport
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. season — of the year
  23. degree — an amount
  24. last — final

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