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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: stick · dip · tear · foot · field · march · mine · craft

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. craft — a skill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. field — a subject
  10. dip — to sink
  11. march — the month
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. field — farmland
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. craft — boats
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. tear — from crying
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. tear — to rip
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. field — for sport

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