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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. bank — for money
  5. bark — to shout
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — to drop
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. field — for sport
  11. craft — boats
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bank — of a river
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bank — for money
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — to trim
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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