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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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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 · staff · bear

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bound — certain
  3. last — finally
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bound — obliged
  6. staff — a stick
  7. last — to go on
  8. content — the amount
  9. race — a contest
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bear — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — tied together
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. degree — temperature
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. staff — employees

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