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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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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: pass · dip · mark · row · mine · date · degree · shower

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. dip — to sink
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. date — the fruit
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. shower — rain
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. shower — to wash
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. pass — a permit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. mark — a trace
  24. degree — temperature

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