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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 · squash · straw · hand · ball · charge · branch · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — a price
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. squash — to crush
  7. branch — a division
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. charge — electricity
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. squash — the sport
  14. hand — help
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. charge — in control
  18. fork — in a road
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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