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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: tear · mine · band · can · pitcher · game · ground · root

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — to rip
  3. can — a tin
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. root — of a plant
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. can — to be able to
  11. root — the cause
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. can — a tin
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tear — from crying
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — for digging
  22. band — a music group
  23. root — of a word
  24. ground — crushed

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