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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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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: squash · track · content · bark · fork · hand · dip · staff

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. hand — help
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. content — happy
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — to shout
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. staff — a stick
  15. squash — to crush
  16. staff — employees
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fork — in a road
  20. track — to keep track
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. track — a path

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