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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 120 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: drill · pass · pound · race · degree · shower · wake · present

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. drill — army training
  4. pass — a permit
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. present — the time now
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. pound — a weight
  15. wake — a trail
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — rain
  18. drill — a practice
  19. degree — temperature
  20. present — a gift
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. present — there
  23. drill — the tool
  24. race — the arms race

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