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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: drill · fork · bark · clip · squash · key · mate · branch

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. key — for a lock
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. clip — a video
  5. drill — army training
  6. key — the most important part
  7. drill — a practice
  8. key — in music
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. clip — to cut
  12. mate — a friend
  13. branch — a division
  14. mate — to breed
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. squash — the sport
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mate — a partner
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. branch — of a tree

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