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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: key · racket · cabinet · mine · game · march · pass · race

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pass — a permit
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. march — music
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. race — a contest
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. key — the most important part
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — for digging
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. race — humankind
  23. key — for a lock
  24. key — in music

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