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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. kid — to tease
  3. craft — a skill
  4. firm — steady
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. firm — decided
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. date — the fruit
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — final
  16. firm — a company
  17. craft — boats
  18. last — to go on
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. last — finally

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