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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: bark · last · pitcher · craft · band · foot · kid · tear

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. last — final
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. band — a ring
  10. craft — boats
  11. foot — a measure
  12. kid — child
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — to tease
  19. last — to go on
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. band — a music group
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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