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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · kid · bass · calf · season · pit · mine · date

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pit — in a race
  11. kid — to tease
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. current — of water
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — child
  18. date — the fruit
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. season — of the year
  21. current — happening now
  22. season — in sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — the instrument

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