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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: last · date · scale · bass · cold · rash · object · track

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. cold — not warm
  4. scale — size or range
  5. track — to keep track
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. object — to protest
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. object — a thing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. scale — in music
  13. track — a song
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. object — an aim
  16. bass — low music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. last — finally
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. track — a path
  24. bass — the fish

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