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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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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: wake · stock · safe · last · field · degree · charge · file

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. field — for sport
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. degree — from a university
  6. file — a line of people
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stock — shares
  11. file — a document
  12. field — a subject
  13. stock — goods
  14. wake — a trail
  15. field — farmland
  16. last — finally
  17. charge — a price
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — final
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — to go on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. charge — in control

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