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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: mouse · game · net · hand · race · pit · spring · tear

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. spring — the season
  3. game — wild animals
  4. spring — a coil
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. spring — of water
  7. tear — to rip
  8. race — a contest
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. game — a match
  14. net — after costs
  15. race — humankind
  16. hand — help
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — for catching
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — in cards
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — in sport
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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