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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 120 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: racket · game · race · bore · mate · branch · spring · hand

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bore — to tire
  4. game — a match
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — to breed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spring — the season
  12. hand — help
  13. branch — a division
  14. spring — of water
  15. bore — to drill
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spring — a coil

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