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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: race · bound · jam · bark · straw · pound · degree · chip

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. chip — to eat
  3. bound — obliged
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chip — for betting
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bark — to shout
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. degree — an amount
  19. race — a contest
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bark — of a tree

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