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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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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: deal · stick · bark · bat · fork · mouse · lash · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. march — music
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. march — the month

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