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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — to shout
  4. drill — army training
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lean — thin
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. net — after costs
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. net — for catching
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. net — in sport
  23. drill — the tool
  24. land — ground

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