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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. current — electric
  3. wind — moving air
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. current — happening now
  6. bark — to shout
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. mark — a grade
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mark — a trace
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — of water
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. bark — of a tree

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