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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: bark · ground · net · nail · wound · date · fork · mine

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ground — a position
  8. net — after costs
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ground — crushed
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fork — in a road
  20. wound — an injury
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. ground — the earth

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