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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 120 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 · race · wound · drill · spell · safe · mark · ball

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. spell — magic
  3. drill — army training
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mark — a grade
  6. drill — the tool
  7. spell — letters
  8. race — humankind
  9. ball — a great time
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. spell — a short time
  17. hand — in cards
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mark — a trace
  22. race — a contest
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wound — an injury

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