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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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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: rush · wake · degree · ball · file · staff · race · present

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. ball — a dance
  4. file — a tool
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. staff — employees
  8. file — a document
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wake — a trail
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — the arms race
  16. ball — a great time
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. present — the time now
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — hurry
  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