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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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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: craft · bark · wake · lash · cell · mate · hand · fork

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. mate — a partner
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. mate — a friend
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. fork — in a road
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — help
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. craft — boats
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. hand — in cards
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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