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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: field · wind · bark · race · wound · rock · lean · degree

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rock — a stone
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rock — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. wind — moving air
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. race — a contest
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — a subject
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lean — to bend
  24. race — humankind

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