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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 · field · trunk · straw · bark · mouse · row · cue

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. row — a line
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bark — to shout
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fork — in a road
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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