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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 120 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: mine · kid · game · dip · tear · saw · root · craft

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. game — a match
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. mine — for digging
  7. root — the cause
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. craft — boats
  13. kid — child
  14. dip — to sink
  15. saw — the tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. root — of a plant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. root — of a word
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. game — wild animals

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