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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: band · kick · toast · tear · craft · bark · spell · court

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of a king
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spell — a short time
  8. toast — bread
  9. tear — to rip
  10. band — a music group
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. spell — letters
  14. band — a ring
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. kick — in football
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. bark — to shout
  20. court — of law
  21. tear — from crying
  22. spell — magic
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. kick — a thrill

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