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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: hand · spring · rush · chair · face · race · clip · bank

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. face — to point toward
  6. spring — the season
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. hand — in cards
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. hand — help
  13. clip — for paper
  14. race — a contest
  15. clip — a video
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — for money
  18. face — part of the head
  19. spring — of water
  20. bank — of a river
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. spring — a coil
  24. race — humankind

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