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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · lean · bark · date · bound · fall · coach · bat

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bound — tied together
  8. fork — in a road
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bound — certain
  15. lean — thin
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. date — the fruit
  19. lean — to bend
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fall — the season

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