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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 · leaves · pitcher · club · ground · spring · bat

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — to rip
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. spring — a coil
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. club — a group
  9. drill — army training
  10. bat — the animal
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. club — for dancing
  14. ground — the earth
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spring — the season
  22. club — for golf
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bat — in an idiom

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