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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: bound · land · drill · calf · tear · present · mine · fall

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. 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. tear — to rip
  2. fall — to drop
  3. land — ground
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — a country
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — to come down
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. present — there
  12. drill — army training
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. present — a gift
  16. bound — tied together
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fall — the season
  20. present — the time now
  21. bound — certain
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. 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