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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: squash · rest · band · date · bass · rule · jam · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. squash — the sport
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rule — a law
  5. rest — a break
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — not warm
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. band — a music group
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rest — what's left
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. squash — to crush
  17. rule — government
  18. band — a ring
  19. cold — an illness
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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