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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 120 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: last · degree · content · bound · race · cell

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. 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. last — finally
  2. race — the arms race
  3. content — the amount
  4. last — to go on
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — in biology
  9. last — final
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. degree — from a university
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — an amount
  18. 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