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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: drill · tear · stand · net · race · content · land · game

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. drill — the tool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stand — to bear
  5. content — the amount
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. race — a contest
  8. tear — to rip
  9. game — a match
  10. net — after costs
  11. drill — army training
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. drill — a practice
  14. race — the arms race
  15. land — a country
  16. net — for catching
  17. land — to come down
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. game — wild animals
  21. content — happy
  22. net — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. tear — from crying

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