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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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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: kid · bank · race · mouse · sharp · mine · band · land

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bank — for money
  4. land — a country
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. kid — to tease
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. race — humankind
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — a contest
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a music group
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — child
  21. bank — of a river
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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