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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: cold · firm · season · shower · nail · degree · bay · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — temperature
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. season — in sport
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. firm — steady
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. firm — decided
  15. date — the fruit
  16. firm — a company
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. season — of the year
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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