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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.

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: cell · ground · lie · race · spring · degree · bound · suit

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. race — humankind
  3. cell — in biology
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ground — a position
  6. degree — an amount
  7. race — a contest
  8. spring — the season
  9. bound — obliged
  10. ground — the earth
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — tied together
  13. cell — a phone
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bound — certain
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. suit — to fit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. spring — a coil

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