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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: shower · last · kid · rest · suit · club · degree · sharp

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. rest — what's left
  3. suit — clothes
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — final
  6. club — a group
  7. last — finally
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. suit — in cards
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. last — to go on
  22. club — for golf
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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