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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 · mate · bass · rash · straw · fall · face · pop

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fall — the season
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. season — in sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rash — hasty
  9. season — of the year
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — to confront
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mate — a friend
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. mate — to breed
  18. face — to point toward
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. rash — a series
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. season — to add flavour

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