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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: pound · rest · wave · shower · hand · toast · degree · game

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pound — a weight
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — in cards
  10. degree — from a university
  11. hand — help
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. shower — to wash
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rest — a break
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. toast — bread

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