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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: ball · chest · content · stick · file · club · bark · fork

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. file — a tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. club — a group
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chest — a box
  18. club — for golf
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — to shout
  22. chest — of your body
  23. file — a document
  24. club — for dancing

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