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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: wave · cell · mine · wake · fine · saw · net · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — after costs
  4. race — humankind
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. net — in sport
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — a phone
  12. saw — the tool
  13. fine — all right
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. mine — for digging
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. net — for catching
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. cell — in biology

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