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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: pitcher · racket · spring · ruler · temple · rash · land · drill

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — the season
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. land — ground
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rash — hasty
  9. drill — the tool
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rash — a series
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — to come down
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spring — a coil
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. drill — a practice
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. land — a country
  24. ruler — for measuring

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