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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.

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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: tube · straw · calf · drill · leaves · land · racket · ruler

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. land — to come down
  3. drill — a practice
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. tube — the underground
  17. drill — army training
  18. drill — the tool
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — ground
  24. land — a country

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