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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: hand · bowl · pitcher · tear · pass · drill · land · race

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — to come down
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. drill — a practice
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. drill — army training
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. race — humankind
  18. pass — a permit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. land — a country
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. hand — help

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