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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: degree · race · spell · bound · pitch · perch · ball · face

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ball — a dance
  4. perch — the fish
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bound — obliged
  7. race — the arms race
  8. face — to point toward
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. ball — a great time
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. face — to confront
  14. spell — a short time
  15. race — a contest
  16. bound — tied together
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitch — completely
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bound — certain
  24. degree — from a university

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