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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: land · stick · saw · bark · plane · fork · pop · tear

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bark — to shout
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fork — in a road
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. plane — a tool
  16. land — ground
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pop — music
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. pop — to visit
  21. land — a country
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. land — to come down
  24. tear — to rip

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