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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 116 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: nail · lash · capital · bark · content · rock · fork · pound

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. content — the amount
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. fork — in a road
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. content — happy
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. capital — a city
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rock — a stone
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rock — music
  20. pound — a weight
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. capital — money

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