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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 120 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. court — for sport
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mug — a face
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — a video
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — in golf
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. mug — a cup
  17. court — of law
  18. mug — to rob
  19. clip — to cut
  20. degree — an amount
  21. swing — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. court — of a king
  24. bark — to shout

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