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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: race · mark · roll · mine · spell · kick · bat · racket

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spell — letters
  6. roll — a list
  7. race — a contest
  8. spell — a short time
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mine — for digging
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. roll — a cake
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — magic
  22. kick — in football
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. mark — a trace

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