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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 116 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: hand · craft · fall · tear · pit · bark · wound · club

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. club — a group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fall — the season
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. bark — to shout
  12. club — for golf
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pit — a hole
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pit — in a race
  22. craft — boats
  23. tear — from crying
  24. club — for dancing

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