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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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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: temple · drill · fork · straw · bark · lean · row · land

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. lean — thin
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. drill — army training
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bark — to shout
  15. row — a line
  16. drill — a practice
  17. lean — to bend
  18. land — ground
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bark — of a tree

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