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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: mouse · bank · race · cold · lash · chest · trunk · board

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — the arms race
  8. board — a committee
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. race — humankind
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chest — a box
  18. bank — for money
  19. board — to get on
  20. bank — for money
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. race — a contest
  24. chest — of your body

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