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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: degree · rest · kid · chest · spring · ruler · can · track

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. degree — from a university
  3. track — to keep track
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — what's left
  6. spring — the season
  7. kid — to tease
  8. track — a song
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. can — a tin
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — child
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. spring — of water
  18. rest — a break
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a path
  23. can — to be able to
  24. degree — temperature

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