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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: tear · field · stick · sharp · rash · degree · shower · bulb

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — for sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. shower — to wash
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. degree — from a university
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. degree — an amount

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