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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 · date · drill · pit · net · roll · nail · file

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. tear — from crying
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. file — a tool
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — in sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pit — in a race
  11. drill — army training
  12. roll — a list
  13. roll — a cake
  14. tear — to rip
  15. date — the fruit
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. net — after costs
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a line of people
  20. net — for catching
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. pit — a hole
  23. drill — the tool
  24. file — a document

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