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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: stand · object · field · safe · tear · degree

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. field — a subject
  5. object — a thing
  6. field — farmland
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stand — to bear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. object — to protest
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. object — an aim
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. degree — from a university

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