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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: degree · rest · lean · chest · wake · shower · wind · race

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chest — a box
  3. degree — temperature
  4. lean — to bend
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. lean — thin
  8. degree — an amount
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — what's left
  15. race — humankind
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wake — a trail
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rest — a break

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