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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · race · mate · swing · nail · mine · tube · court

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. swing — in golf
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. swing — to play on
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. swing — music
  11. race — a contest
  12. tube — the underground
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mine — for digging
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mate — to breed
  19. tube — a container
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. court — of a king
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — humankind
  24. tube — in a tire

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