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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: fork · bark · rash · branch · drill · sharp · spell · mate

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. mate — a friend
  5. spell — letters
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. drill — army training
  10. mate — to breed
  11. rash — a series
  12. branch — a division
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bark — to shout
  15. drill — a practice
  16. rash — hasty
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spell — magic
  24. fork — in a road

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