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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 · kick · cold · race · land · ruler · bank · key

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. land — ground
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — a country
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. key — in music
  8. land — to come down
  9. bank — for money
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. race — humankind
  15. key — the most important part
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — in football
  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