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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 120 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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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 · kick · fall · tear · row · pitcher · snap · can

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. can — to be able to
  5. snap — to click
  6. fall — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. row — to paddle
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kick — in football
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. can — a tin
  14. drill — army training
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. can — a tin
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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