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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: bound · stem · degree · board · race · capital

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. board — to get on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. race — a contest
  5. bound — tied together
  6. capital — money
  7. bound — obliged
  8. capital — a city
  9. board — a committee
  10. degree — from a university
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bound — certain
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a big letter
  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