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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: wake · date · degree · pitcher · rush · stand · race · bass

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. race — humankind
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. rush — hurry
  10. stand — to bear
  11. race — a contest
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — the arms race
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bass — the fish
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bass — low music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stand — for spectators

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