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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 116 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: kick · tube · rest · season · degree · cell

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cell — a phone
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. season — of the year
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. degree — from a university
  13. tube — a container
  14. cell — in biology
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. season — in sport
  18. kick — in football

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