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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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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: mine · chest · bank · race · pound · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. court — for sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bank — for money
  9. race — a contest
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. race — humankind
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — a box
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pound — for dogs

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