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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: key · court · fine · degree · rash · swing · rest · file

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. key — in music
  4. file — a tool
  5. fine — all right
  6. swing — in golf
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a document
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — of law
  13. rash — a series
  14. rest — what's left
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — from a university
  17. key — the most important part
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rash — hasty
  20. court — of a king
  21. swing — to play on
  22. key — for a lock
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — music

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