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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. drill — the tool
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. drill — army training
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fork — in a road
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. rash — a series
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — a box
  21. rash — hasty
  22. drill — a practice
  23. cap — of ice
  24. fork — a garden tool

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