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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: foot · straw · tear · stick · bark · march · deal · date

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tear — to rip
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. march — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. foot — a measure
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. date — the fruit
  22. march — the month
  23. deal — to handle
  24. bark — of a tree

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