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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: mine · race · cabinet · game · band · wind · pitch · net

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — for catching
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — in sport
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — after costs
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. game — a match
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — humankind
  24. cabinet — ministers

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