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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: lash · fall · march · bass · toast · degree · season · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. toast — bread
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — the season
  8. season — in sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bass — the fish
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. bass — low music
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wind — moving air
  23. march — music
  24. fall — to drop

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