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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.

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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. spring — a coil
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bank — for money
  5. cue — for pool
  6. race — a contest
  7. cue — a signal
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cue — a hint
  12. bass — low music
  13. face — to confront
  14. face — to point toward
  15. race — humankind
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. bank — of a river
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bank — for money
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  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