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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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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: pass · craft · cold · lash · season · mate · band · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. season — of the year
  3. pass — a permit
  4. band — a ring
  5. craft — boats
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. band — a music group
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. craft — a skill
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mate — a friend

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