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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. field — a subject
  4. bark — to shout
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. march — music
  10. rash — hasty
  11. field — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. shower — to wash
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. march — the month
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rash — a series
  20. fork — in a road
  21. shower — rain
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bore — to tire
  24. field — farmland

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