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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bound — certain
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cell — in biology

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