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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: stock · band · degree · chair · bound · fork · field · safe

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — a subject
  4. band — a ring
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bound — obliged
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. field — for sport
  12. bound — tied together
  13. band — a music group
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bound — certain
  16. stock — goods
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stock — shares
  23. fork — in a road
  24. safe — a strongbox

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