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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: spell · pop · cabinet · race · field · bank · straw · kid

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. field — for sport
  3. pop — music
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bank — for money
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — a contest
  8. bank — for money
  9. race — humankind
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — a short time
  13. pop — soda
  14. race — the arms race
  15. pop — to visit
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kid — to tease
  18. spell — magic
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — letters
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. field — a subject

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