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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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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: mine · rest · drill · bowl · net · nail · band · tear

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — from crying
  3. drill — a practice
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. net — for catching
  6. tear — to rip
  7. band — a music group
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. net — after costs
  11. drill — the tool
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rest — what's left
  15. net — in sport
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. band — a ring
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. tear — from crying
  20. drill — army training
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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