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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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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: bowl · drill · tear · board · safe · game

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tear — to rip
  3. game — wild animals
  4. board — to get on
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. board — a committee
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. game — a match
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. drill — a practice
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. drill — army training

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