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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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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: tear · craft · perch · pitcher · lash · bay · ground · spell

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. ground — a position
  7. craft — boats
  8. spell — letters
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spell — magic
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. perch — the fish
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ground — crushed
  20. craft — a skill
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. spell — a short time
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. ground — the earth

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