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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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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: chip · race · bank · spring · court · toast

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. court — for sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. bank — for money
  5. race — the arms race
  6. spring — the season
  7. court — of law
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. bank — for money
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. spring — of water
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. court — of a king
  15. bank — of a river
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. toast — bread
  18. race — humankind

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