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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
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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: drill · stock · cold · tear · nail · pitcher · mouse · club

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — an illness
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. club — for dancing
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. club — a group
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — army training
  18. club — for golf
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — a practice
  24. mouse — the animal

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