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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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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 · chair · fall · cold · bank · tube

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. race — humankind
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bank — of a river
  5. tube — the underground
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — not warm
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — a container

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