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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 · race · suit · mark · kid · wake · land · degree

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. bound — obliged
  5. suit — clothes
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. suit — in cards
  8. land — ground
  9. race — the arms race
  10. degree — from a university
  11. land — a country
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. degree — temperature
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bound — certain
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kid — child
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a trace
  24. kid — to tease

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