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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: band · kick · toast · tear · craft · bark

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a music group
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. bark — to shout
  9. toast — bread
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. craft — boats
  12. kick — in football
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. craft — a skill
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. kick — with a leg

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