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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: cold · row · season · bass · wound · lean · suit · field

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. suit — clothes
  2. suit — in cards
  3. season — of the year
  4. field — for sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bass — the fish
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. suit — to fit
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lean — thin
  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