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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: rock · bass · march · foot · cold · snap · straw · season

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — not warm
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. foot — a measure
  9. season — in sport
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bass — the fish
  12. snap — to click
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rock — a stone
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. rock — music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. march — the month

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