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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: snap · wind · degree · wake · rash · game · wave · date

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — wild animals
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. rash — hasty
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to click
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wind — moving air

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