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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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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. mug — a face
  3. track — a path
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bark — to shout
  6. row — a line
  7. court — of law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. mug — to rob
  10. court — of a king
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. key — in music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. key — the most important part
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. track — a song
  21. court — for sport
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. row — to paddle

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