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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. current — of water
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. current — happening now
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bank — for money
  14. stem — to come from
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. current — electric
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cap — a hat
  22. hand — help
  23. race — the arms race
  24. straw — a straw man

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