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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: hand · tube · race · squash · bank · spell · land · present

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. tube — a container
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spell — magic
  5. hand — help
  6. race — humankind
  7. tube — the underground
  8. present — the time now
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bank — for money
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — the arms race
  13. land — ground
  14. race — a contest
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. present — there
  19. bank — for money
  20. squash — the sport
  21. present — a gift
  22. land — to come down
  23. bank — of a river
  24. land — a country

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