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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: chest · rest · staff · field · shower · degree · toast · fan

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chest — a box
  3. staff — a stick
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. rest — a break
  11. degree — from a university
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. chest — of your body
  14. staff — employees
  15. degree — temperature
  16. field — a subject
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. staff — employees
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. field — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. toast — bread
  24. field — farmland

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