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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: staff · bass · wax · wind · game · bat · mug · season

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mug — a cup
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mug — to rob
  9. staff — employees
  10. mug — a face
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — wild animals
  13. season — in sport
  14. bass — low music
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. season — of the year
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bass — the fish
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — a match

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