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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 120 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: ruler · stand · degree · hand · wind · tear · chest · safe

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. degree — an amount
  7. hand — help
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chest — a box
  11. tear — to rip
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. ruler — for measuring

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