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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.

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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: date · object · stand · game · land · tear · ground · roll

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. tear — from crying
  3. land — to come down
  4. roll — a list
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. land — ground
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — to protest
  12. stand — to bear
  13. roll — a cake
  14. object — an aim
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. ground — the earth
  17. game — wild animals
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. tear — to rip
  20. tear — from crying
  21. land — a country
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. game — a match
  24. ground — a position

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