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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: bass · season · pound · land · object · cap · spell · shower

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. season — in sport
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — ground
  5. bass — the fish
  6. land — to come down
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — of the year
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. land — a country
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. shower — to wash
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — a thing
  17. shower — rain
  18. cap — a hat
  19. spell — letters
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. cap — a lid
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — low music

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