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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: land · current · temple · lash · tear · date · season · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. current — happening now
  7. season — in sport
  8. tear — from crying
  9. season — of the year
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. date — the fruit
  13. tear — to rip
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. land — to come down
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. tear — from crying
  22. current — of water
  23. current — electric
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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