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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: hand · racket · bank · land · race · spring · track · rule

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. 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. spring — the season
  2. spring — of water
  3. land — ground
  4. race — a contest
  5. track — a song
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. land — to come down
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bank — for money
  15. rule — government
  16. land — a country
  17. hand — in cards
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rule — a law
  20. bank — of a river
  21. hand — help
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. 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