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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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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: object · pound · field · chest · tear · plane · degree · board

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. object — to protest
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. board — to get on
  9. plane — a tool
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — an amount
  13. object — an aim
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. board — a committee
  18. object — a thing
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — temperature
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. field — for sport
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pound — a weight

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