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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: degree · rush · wound · stem · kid · rash · calf · race

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rash — a series
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — a contest
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — from a university
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kid — to tease
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. degree — temperature
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rush — a thrill

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