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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: file · row · fork · wake · mark · cue · bark · court

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. court — for sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. file — a document
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. row — a line
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. mark — a trace
  14. cue — a signal
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — of law
  20. row — to paddle
  21. court — of a king
  22. fork — in a road
  23. wake — a trail
  24. fork — a garden tool

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