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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: trunk · kid · toast · craft · roll · tear · pitcher · net

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. craft — boats
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — to tease
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. toast — bread
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tear — from crying
  11. roll — a cake
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — child
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — in sport
  22. roll — a list
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. pitcher — a jug

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