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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fork — in a road
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wound — an injury
  7. key — for a lock
  8. hand — in cards
  9. kid — child
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. key — the most important part
  15. craft — boats
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — to rip
  20. hand — help
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — to eat with

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