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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 116 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: bark · cell · fork · kick · craft · rock · snap · scale

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bark — to shout
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. craft — a skill
  7. kick — in football
  8. scale — in music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — a phone
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — size or range
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. snap — to click
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. scale — for weighing

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