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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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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: bark · row · march · fork · rush · wound · deal · hand

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. rush — hurry
  5. bark — to shout
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fork — in a road
  14. row — a line
  15. march — music
  16. hand — help
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. deal — to handle
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. hand — in cards

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