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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · drill · ground · land · race · mine · swing · lash

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. drill — the tool
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — the arms race
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. race — humankind
  7. swing — to play on
  8. ground — crushed
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. mine — for digging
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. race — a contest
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — a country
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. drill — army training
  24. ground — a position

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