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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: rock · bound · staff · degree · chest · pit · leaves · race

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. rock — to move gently
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — humankind
  6. staff — employees
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bound — tied together
  9. degree — temperature
  10. staff — employees
  11. rock — a stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. race — a contest
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. chest — a box
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pit — a hole
  18. rock — music
  19. race — the arms race
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bound — certain
  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