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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: wave · hand · court · bass · field · track · season · march

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. track — a path
  3. march — music
  4. court — of law
  5. hand — help
  6. season — in sport
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. field — for sport
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — a subject
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. court — for sport
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. court — of a king
  22. track — to keep track
  23. track — a song
  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