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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: plane · shower · drill · fork · kid · bark · arm · stick

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. plane — a tool
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — to tease
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fork — in a road
  10. shower — rain
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. drill — army training
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. bark — to shout
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. drill — the tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. kid — child
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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