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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · rash · chest · fan · spring · mine · craft · pit

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chest — a box
  4. craft — boats
  5. spring — of water
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chest — of your body
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — the season
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pit — in a race
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. rash — hasty
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rash — a series
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. pit — a hole

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