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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 116 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: vault · mine · game · net · spell · racket · race · fall

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — after costs
  4. spell — a short time
  5. race — the arms race
  6. game — wild animals
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. net — in sport
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. vault — a safe
  15. fall — to drop
  16. race — a contest
  17. spell — magic
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — the season
  21. net — for catching
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spell — letters
  24. racket — for tennis

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