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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: game · racket · nail · drill · row · ground

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. game — a match
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — a position
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. drill — army training
  12. ground — the earth
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. row — to paddle
  15. drill — a practice
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. drill — the tool

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