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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: bound · cap · lie · vault · march · wake · degree · race

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — from a university
  3. degree — temperature
  4. march — music
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — a contest
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cap — of ice
  16. race — humankind
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. cap — a lid
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bound — obliged
  22. march — the month
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bound — certain

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