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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: stick · degree · tear · ground · chest · deal · charge · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — temperature
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ground — a position
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. ground — crushed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. degree — an amount
  16. charge — in control
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — a box
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. charge — electricity
  22. deal — to handle
  23. field — farmland
  24. charge — a price

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