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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: present · kid · racket · key · last · mine · drill · game

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. key — in music
  3. game — a match
  4. kid — to tease
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — army training
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. present — a gift
  10. kid — child
  11. last — final
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. game — wild animals
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. key — the most important part
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. present — the time now
  18. drill — the tool
  19. key — for a lock
  20. drill — a practice
  21. present — there
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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