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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: lash · bass · cold · last · date · march · current · rock

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rock — music
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. last — to go on
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. date — the fruit
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bass — the fish
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bass — low music
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. march — the month
  18. current — happening now
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rock — a stone
  24. date — on the calendar

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