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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · key · rash · date · last · saw · rest · wax

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. date — the fruit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. key — for a lock
  4. last — finally
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. last — final
  7. last — to go on
  8. wax — to grow
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rest — a break
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. degree — an amount
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rest — what's left
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. saw — the tool
  23. date — on the calendar
  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