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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: wind · march · kid · row · cabinet · patient · bass · season

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. march — the month
  6. bass — the fish
  7. march — the month
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. bass — low music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. row — to paddle
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. march — music
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. kid — to tease
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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