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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 120 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: rest · chest · degree · file · can · club · season · rule

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. club — for golf
  3. rule — a law
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. club — for dancing
  8. rule — government
  9. chest — of your body
  10. can — to be able to
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — from a university
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. can — a tin
  17. rest — a break
  18. club — a group
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chest — a box
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a document
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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