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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: swing · rest · trunk · rule · degree · date

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. swing — to play on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — government
  9. rest — what's left
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. swing — music
  16. rule — a law
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rest — what's left

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