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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: club · cold · mouse · race · mine · bank · board · cabinet

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — humankind
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — not warm
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — for digging
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — of a river

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