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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: wind · lean · game · deal · race · cell · ball · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. ball — a great time
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. race — humankind
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. deal — to handle
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cell — in biology
  15. race — a contest
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hand — help
  20. lean — thin
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. ball — a dance

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