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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: dip · fork · wind · hand · calf · field · stick · bark

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. hand — help
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wind — moving air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. dip — to sink
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — a subject
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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