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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 · date · wave · rush · press · rest · game · row

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. degree — temperature
  5. date — the fruit
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. rest — what's left
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. row — a line
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. press — newspapers
  14. rush — hurry
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. degree — from a university
  17. rest — what's left
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rest — a break
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. press — a publisher
  24. press — to push

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