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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.

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: hand · ruler · bat · straw · land · mine · pitcher · tear

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hand — in cards
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — help
  17. mine — for digging
  18. land — to come down
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — the animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. ruler — a monarch

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