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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: degree · present · wave · date · hand · mark · season · race

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. present — there
  4. hand — help
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. race — humankind
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. race — the arms race
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. present — a gift
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. present — the time now
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mark — a trace
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — in cards

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