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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: drill · bark · swing · bear · saw · kick · fork · capital

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bear — the animal
  6. swing — music
  7. capital — a city
  8. drill — army training
  9. capital — money
  10. bear — the animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. kick — in football
  16. drill — the tool
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. drill — a practice
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bark — to shout
  23. swing — to play on
  24. kick — a thrill

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