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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: tear · kid · last · nail · stick · pitcher

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. last — final
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — to go on
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — child
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — finally
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — to rip

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