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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: wound · stand · season · race · rush · trunk · degree · field

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. field — a subject
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — farmland
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — hurry
  10. season — in sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. season — of the year
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. field — for sport
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. stand — to bear

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