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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · game · file · court · bank · arm · race · fan

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bank — of a river
  3. game — wild animals
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bank — for money
  11. court — of law
  12. court — of a king
  13. race — a contest
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a document
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. file — a line of people
  20. race — the arms race
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bank — for money
  24. race — humankind

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