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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: degree · current · march · date · tear · suit · band · dip

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. degree — from a university
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. suit — in cards
  6. dip — to sink
  7. march — the month
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. suit — clothes
  10. degree — temperature
  11. suit — to fit
  12. current — happening now
  13. degree — an amount
  14. tear — to rip
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. date — the fruit
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. current — electric
  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