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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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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: ground · sharp · drill · hand · pound · race · land · can

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. hand — help
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. hand — in cards
  5. land — a country
  6. can — a tin
  7. land — to come down
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ground — a position
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — ground
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. can — to be able to
  17. ground — crushed
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. race — a contest
  20. sharp — clever
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pound — a weight
  23. race — humankind
  24. can — a tin

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