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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: bark · saw · tear · race · hand · fork · wind · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — the arms race
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hand — in cards
  13. fork — in a road
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bark — to shout
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. hand — help
  21. race — humankind
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. race — a contest

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