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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: object · bank · race · drill · court · ground · spring · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. cue — for pool
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bank — for money
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cue — a hint
  6. object — an aim
  7. cue — a signal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. drill — the tool
  10. ground — a position
  11. object — to protest
  12. race — humankind
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — for sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. spring — the season
  17. object — a thing
  18. bank — for money
  19. spring — of water
  20. drill — army training
  21. court — of a king
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of law
  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