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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 · land · race · cold · bank · mark · court · plane

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bank — of a river
  5. land — a country
  6. spell — letters
  7. race — the arms race
  8. court — for sport
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of law
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. land — ground
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bank — for money
  18. spell — a short time
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. court — of a king
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. spell — magic

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