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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: drill · ball · hand · racket · bear · mine · cap · last

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. last — to go on
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — help
  10. cap — a lid
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. last — finally
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. drill — the tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. last — final
  21. drill — army training
  22. cap — a hat
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ball — a great time

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