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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 · wake · race · stem · degree · content · cold · mug

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — the amount
  3. bound — tied together
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bound — certain
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. degree — from a university
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cold — not warm
  14. content — happy
  15. bound — obliged
  16. race — humankind
  17. mug — a cup
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — temperature
  21. race — a contest
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a face
  24. degree — an amount

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