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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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Word bank
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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: kid · pitcher · sharp · key · snap · last · bark · tear

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. last — final
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. sharp — clever
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — finally
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. key — in music
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. kid — child
  18. bark — to shout
  19. last — to go on
  20. key — the most important part
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. key — for a lock

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