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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 116 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: fall · chip · bank · mate · cold · race · chair · season

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bank — for money
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mate — a friend
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chip — for betting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bank — for money
  13. fall — the season
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. chip — to eat
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a partner
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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