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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · hand · bear · row · bank · mine · court · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. row — a line
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. row — to paddle
  7. net — after costs
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bank — for money
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bank — for money
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. court — for sport
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bear — the animal
  17. net — for catching
  18. court — of a king
  19. race — humankind
  20. bear — the animal
  21. hand — help
  22. bank — of a river
  23. net — in sport
  24. mine — belonging to me

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