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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: straw · file · tear · craft · dip · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. dip — to sink
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a skill
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. craft — boats
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tear — to rip
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. file — a tool

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