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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: snap · charge · temple · mate · wave · chest · degree · date

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. charge — in control
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. mate — to breed
  14. degree — from a university
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. charge — a price
  17. chest — a box
  18. charge — electricity
  19. degree — temperature
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. date — on the calendar

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