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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
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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 · last · scale · current · root · cell · bass · ball

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bass — the fish
  5. root — of a plant
  6. ball — a dance
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ball — a great time
  9. last — final
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. scale — in music
  12. current — electric
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a word
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. cell — a phone
  18. current — happening now
  19. season — in sport
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — low music
  24. current — of water

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