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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · calf · tear · net · date · scale · land · drill

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. land — ground
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — army training
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. net — in sport
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. tear — to rip
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. drill — a practice
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fall — to drop
  18. scale — in music
  19. land — a country
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. tear — from crying
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. net — after costs

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