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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 · file · patient · swing · rest · cap

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. swing — music
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. degree — from a university
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. cap — of ice
  11. swing — to play on
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cap — a lid
  14. degree — an amount
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cap — a hat
  18. file — a document

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