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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: rash · stem · degree · tear · safe · pop · wound · mate

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mate — a partner
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pop — soda
  10. mate — to breed
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. mate — a friend
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pop — music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rash — hasty
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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