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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. march — the month
  3. suit — to fit
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. march — music
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. suit — clothes
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. sharp — clever
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. kick — in football
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. suit — in cards

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