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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: race · key · pitcher · tear · degree · land · drill · calf

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — a country
  4. race — humankind
  5. tear — from crying
  6. degree — temperature
  7. key — the most important part
  8. degree — an amount
  9. key — in music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. tear — from crying
  13. land — to come down
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. race — the arms race
  17. drill — a practice
  18. tear — to rip
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. drill — army training
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — ground
  23. drill — the tool
  24. race — a contest

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