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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: arm · patient · mark · degree · file · bark · hand · fork

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mark — a trace
  11. fork — in a road
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a tool
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — from a university
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hand — help
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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