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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: last · lash · wind · game · date · degree · bass · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wind — moving air
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. degree — temperature
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. last — finally
  12. bass — the fish
  13. spring — of water
  14. last — to go on
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. degree — an amount
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spring — a coil
  21. last — final
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. game — a match
  24. bass — low music

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