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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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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: sharp · wind · cold · cue · roll · racket · bank · race

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  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. bank — of a river
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cue — a hint
  4. bank — for money
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. roll — a list
  9. cue — for pool
  10. sharp — clever
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cold — an illness
  15. roll — a cake
  16. cue — a signal
  17. race — a contest
  18. bank — for money
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. wind — moving air
  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