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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: degree · deal · wound · jam · field · stand · hand · mate

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mate — to breed
  4. field — for sport
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. wound — an injury
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. degree — from a university
  14. field — farmland
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hand — help
  17. field — a subject
  18. mate — a partner
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. deal — to handle
  22. stand — to bear
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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