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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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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 · spring · stick · game · cell · kid · race · lie

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — the season
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bound — certain
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. lie — to recline
  12. bound — obliged
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. spring — of water
  15. race — the arms race
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — a phone
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — in biology
  23. game — wild animals
  24. lie — an untruth

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