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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 · fork · last · rash · date · band · pitch · lash

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pitch — completely
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — to go on
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. degree — temperature
  8. band — a music group
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. rash — hasty
  14. degree — from a university
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fork — in a road
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. band — a ring
  19. last — final
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. rash — a series
  24. fork — a garden tool

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