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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: shower · degree · dip · toast · race · pound

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. degree — temperature
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. race — humankind
  7. dip — to sink
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. race — a contest
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. pound — a weight
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. toast — bread
  18. pound — for dogs

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