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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: fan · rest · degree · swing · foot · clip · ground · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. ground — crushed
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rest — what's left
  17. swing — music
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — the earth
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. rest — a break
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fan — a supporter

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