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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. present — a gift
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. land — a country
  6. drill — army training
  7. ground — crushed
  8. land — to come down
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — there
  11. ground — the earth
  12. tear — from crying
  13. drill — the tool
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. drill — a practice
  20. suit — to fit
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — ground
  24. racket — for tennis

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