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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: bay · craft · dip · object · tear · clip · coach · drill

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. object — to protest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. object — a thing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. craft — boats
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. drill — army training
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. clip — to cut
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. tear — to rip
  21. drill — the tool
  22. object — an aim
  23. tear — from crying
  24. dip — to sink

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