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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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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 · degree · kid · bank · pit · club · rash · last

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pit — in a race
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bank — of a river
  5. degree — an amount
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bank — for money
  8. last — finally
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bank — for money
  17. club — for golf
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — final
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. last — to go on

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