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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 120 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 · bat · bay · bark · last · stem · wound · hand

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. last — final
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. last — to go on
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. last — finally
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bark — to shout

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