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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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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: root · present · craft · degree · chest · club · hand · file

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. root — the cause
  3. degree — temperature
  4. present — the time now
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a tool
  7. hand — help
  8. degree — from a university
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — a box
  12. club — for golf
  13. craft — a skill
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. root — of a word
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a plant
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — there
  21. degree — an amount
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. chest — of your body
  24. craft — boats

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