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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: bat · last · stand · game · mine · ball · land · race

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. land — to come down
  4. game — a match
  5. land — a country
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. last — finally
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. mine — for digging
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stand — to bear
  13. ball — a great time
  14. last — final
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. race — a contest
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. race — humankind
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. land — ground
  24. mine — an explosive

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