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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: chest · wave · band · pass · date · degree · snap · mouse

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a ring
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pass — a permit
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chest — a box
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. date — the fruit
  23. snap — to click
  24. wave — of the sea

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