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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
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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: mine · date · nail · tear · present · plane · charge · land

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mine — for digging
  3. present — a gift
  4. charge — electricity
  5. land — to come down
  6. present — the time now
  7. land — ground
  8. tear — from crying
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — a price
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. land — a country
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. date — the fruit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. present — there
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. nail — on a finger

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