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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: rash · land · hand · dip · race · ball · cell · mine

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — to come down
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — help
  8. race — the arms race
  9. land — a country
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — for digging
  15. race — humankind
  16. dip — to sink
  17. rash — a series
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. rash — hasty
  20. land — ground
  21. race — a contest
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ball — a great time

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