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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: hand · bear · squash · net · mine · tube · race · drill

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. race — the arms race
  3. drill — a practice
  4. race — a contest
  5. bear — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — the underground
  9. drill — the tool
  10. squash — to crush
  11. hand — in cards
  12. net — after costs
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — in sport
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mine — for digging
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. hand — help

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