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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: race · bound · rule · calf · spring · mine · degree · scale

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. bound — obliged
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — an amount
  9. rule — a law
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spring — of water
  16. rule — government
  17. race — humankind
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. race — a contest
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — in music
  22. bound — certain
  23. scale — size or range
  24. race — the arms race

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