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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: track · ball · hand · mouse · chip · land · race · tube

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. land — a country
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — a contest
  7. ball — a dance
  8. land — ground
  9. race — the arms race
  10. land — to come down
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. track — to keep track
  13. hand — in cards
  14. tube — a container
  15. chip — for betting
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chip — to eat
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. race — humankind
  21. tube — the underground
  22. track — a song
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

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