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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: tear · cap · cold · scale · date · current · bass · staff

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. current — happening now
  12. staff — employees
  13. current — of water
  14. staff — a stick
  15. scale — in music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cap — a hat
  19. current — electric
  20. bass — low music
  21. cap — a lid
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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