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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: mate · bark · pitch · straw · craft · tear · mark · dip

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. mate — to breed
  5. tear — from crying
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. pitch — completely
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — a trace
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mark — a grade
  17. craft — boats
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bark — to shout
  24. dip — to dunk

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