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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: race · mine · straw · roll · ground · bank · court · club

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. race — humankind
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bank — of a river
  7. mine — for digging
  8. club — for dancing
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. roll — a cake
  11. club — a group
  12. court — of a king
  13. roll — a list
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. race — a contest
  18. bank — for money
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bank — for money
  22. ground — a position
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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