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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: bass · lash · stock · cold · season · roll · rock · wake

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bass — low music
  6. stock — goods
  7. roll — a cake
  8. season — of the year
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wake — a trail
  12. roll — a list
  13. rock — music
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stock — shares
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bass — the fish
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. season — in sport
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. cold — an illness

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