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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: kick · drill · mine · tear · date · saw · field · chip

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. tear — from crying
  3. saw — the tool
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — in football
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — to rip
  12. drill — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — a subject
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chip — for betting
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. drill — a practice
  21. mine — for digging
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chip — to eat
  24. drill — army training

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