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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 116 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: root · tear · last · clip · net · nail · bat · lie

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. tear — to rip
  5. last — to go on
  6. root — of a word
  7. last — finally
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. last — final
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bat — the animal
  22. clip — for paper
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — from crying

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