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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: bore · bark · chip · fork · tear · lean · bat · prune

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bore — to drill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chip — for betting
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — thin
  14. chip — to eat
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bore — to tire
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. fork — in a road
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lean — to bend

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