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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: safe · tear · perch · net · drill · fine · date · chest

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — the fish
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. drill — a practice
  6. date — the fruit
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. drill — the tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. tear — to rip
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — after costs
  14. tear — from crying
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chest — a box
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. chest — of your body
  19. net — in sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. fine — all right
  22. drill — army training
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — on the calendar

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