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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: tear · fork · cold · club · bark · temple · current · kick

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. fork — in a road
  4. current — electric
  5. kick — in football
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — an illness
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cold — not warm
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. current — happening now
  15. club — for golf
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. current — of water
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. tear — to rip

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