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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: date · file · degree · bat · mate · pound · wave · march

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. mate — a partner
  5. march — the month
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mate — a friend
  12. file — a line of people
  13. march — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a tool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. file — a document
  22. date — the fruit
  23. march — the month
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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