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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: degree · race · game · current · lie · present · bound · ground

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. ground — the earth
  3. race — a contest
  4. game — wild animals
  5. present — the time now
  6. lie — to recline
  7. current — of water
  8. degree — temperature
  9. present — a gift
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — humankind
  14. ground — a position
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. present — there
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. current — happening now
  19. game — a match
  20. degree — an amount
  21. current — electric
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bound — tied together

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