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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: wake · rash · date · degree · hand · dip · last · fan

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rash — a series
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hand — in cards
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. last — finally
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. last — to go on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. date — the fruit
  13. wake — a trail
  14. last — final
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rash — hasty
  18. hand — help
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. degree — an amount
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fan — a supporter

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