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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
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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: season · lash · straw · file · game · rest · degree · root

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a document
  3. root — of a word
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. rest — what's left
  7. file — a line of people
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. root — of a plant
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — from a university
  15. root — the cause
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. game — a match
  18. rest — a break
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — in sport
  21. degree — temperature
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. rest — what's left

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