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

Word bank: fall · chip · bank · mate · cold · race

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bank — for money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bank — for money
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mate — a friend
  11. race — a contest
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. race — humankind
  15. bank — of a river
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War

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