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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: bat · bear · spring · race · cold · bank · mate · foot

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — a measure
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bank — of a river
  11. race — humankind
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bear — the animal
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. race — a contest
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bank — for money

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