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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · bark · clip · perch · branch · staff · key · chest

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — to cut
  5. chest — a box
  6. key — the most important part
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. perch — the fish
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. clip — a video
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. staff — employees
  24. clip — for paper

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