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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 116 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: degree · bound · cabinet · deal · pop · race · trunk · rash

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pop — to visit
  3. race — the arms race
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. rash — a series
  6. race — humankind
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — obliged
  11. race — a contest
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pop — music
  17. bound — tied together
  18. degree — from a university
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. pop — soda
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cabinet — ministers

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