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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. field — a subject
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bound — certain
  6. net — after costs
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — in sport
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. net — for catching
  13. bound — tied together
  14. game — a match
  15. field — farmland
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. game — wild animals
  19. staff — employees
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — for sport
  22. tear — from crying
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bound — obliged

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