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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: mate · bark · pitch · straw · craft · tear

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. tear — to rip
  4. craft — boats
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. mate — a partner
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mate — a friend
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mate — to breed
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. tear — from crying

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