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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: foot · land · tear · drill · net · lie · date · capital

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lie — to recline
  4. tear — from crying
  5. drill — a practice
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. foot — a measure
  8. land — a country
  9. date — the fruit
  10. net — after costs
  11. capital — money
  12. land — ground
  13. drill — the tool
  14. tear — to rip
  15. capital — a city
  16. land — to come down
  17. net — for catching
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. drill — army training
  24. net — in sport

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