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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: fan · pitcher · hand · tear · capital · land · drill · calf

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. land — a country
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — help
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tear — to rip
  16. land — to come down
  17. drill — army training
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tear — from crying
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. land — ground
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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