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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.

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: chest · season · march · bear · bass · prune · hand · cell

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. season — of the year
  3. march — music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. chest — a box
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bass — low music
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. march — the month
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — in cards
  24. prune — to trim

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