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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: pit · degree · stand · pitcher · wound · safe · sharp · tear

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — to bear
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. degree — from a university
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. pit — in a race
  16. tear — to rip
  17. sharp — clever
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pit — a hole

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