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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: nail · dip · tear · last · date · net · file · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. net — after costs
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. tear — from crying
  5. date — the fruit
  6. last — final
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. file — a line of people
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. file — a document
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. last — finally
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. net — for catching
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. net — in sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. last — to go on
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tear — to rip
  24. file — a tool

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