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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 116 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: wound · season · file · degree · object · rush · ball · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. season — of the year
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. file — a tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. degree — temperature
  7. file — a document
  8. wound — an injury
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. object — to protest
  12. season — in sport
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stand — to bear
  20. file — a line of people
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rush — hurry
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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