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

Word bank: squash · bark · craft · fork · chest · straw · mark · wound

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. squash — the sport
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mark — a trace
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bark — to shout
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mark — a grade
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mark — to pay attention

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