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

Word bank: club · racket · dip · lie · craft · tear

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. club — for dancing
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. craft — a skill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lie — to recline
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. craft — boats
  18. club — a group

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