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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 · fall · drill · tear · pound · court · snap · lie

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. court — for sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — crushed
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — of a king
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. court — of law
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ground — a position
  20. snap — to click
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fall — the season
  23. pound — a weight
  24. lie — to recline

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