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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. track — a song
  7. fork — in a road
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. snap — to click
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — help
  17. file — a tool
  18. track — a path
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. file — a line of people
  22. row — a line
  23. track — to keep track
  24. row — a quarrel

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