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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 116 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: spring · squash · bank · bat · court · cap · wax · race

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — for sport
  5. cap — a hat
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. court — of a king
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. race — a contest
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. race — humankind
  15. bat — the animal
  16. court — of law
  17. cap — a lid
  18. spring — a coil
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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