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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: shower · bark · cell · present · fork · field · kick · dip

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fork — in a road
  4. present — the time now
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. shower — rain
  7. field — for sport
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. present — there
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. shower — to wash
  14. field — a subject
  15. cell — a phone
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bark — to shout
  18. dip — to sink
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. present — a gift
  22. field — farmland
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. kick — with a leg

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