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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: stick · degree · bound · race · pound · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. bound — certain
  4. degree — from a university
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pound — a weight
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bound — tied together
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. race — humankind
  18. pound — to hit hard

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