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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: mine · hand · race · tube · ball · ground · racket · spring

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. race — humankind
  3. ball — a dance
  4. race — a contest
  5. ground — the earth
  6. hand — in cards
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — a position
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. tube — the underground
  20. hand — help
  21. ball — a great time
  22. race — the arms race
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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