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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: drill · kid · race · roll · mine · pitcher · game · plane

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. drill — army training
  3. plane — a tool
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — humankind
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mine — for digging
  8. drill — the tool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. race — a contest
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kid — child
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. drill — a practice
  23. kid — to tease
  24. roll — a cake

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