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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: game · deal · mouse · race · wake · cell · ball · date

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cell — in biology
  5. game — wild animals
  6. race — a contest
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. ball — a dance
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. game — a match
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. date — the fruit
  23. deal — to handle
  24. race — humankind

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