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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 · present · field · bank · tear · straw · craft · shower

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. craft — boats
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bank — for money
  5. present — the time now
  6. shower — to wash
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bank — for money
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tear — from crying
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — for sport
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tear — from crying
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. field — farmland
  21. present — there
  22. field — a subject
  23. craft — a skill
  24. straw — dry grass

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