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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: race · wind · spring · branch · chip · court · cue · foot

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. court — for sport
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cue — a hint
  10. court — of law
  11. court — of a king
  12. race — humankind
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spring — the season
  15. cue — for pool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. wind — moving air
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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