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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: spring · fork · club · arm · prune · bark · perch · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fork — in a road
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. club — a group
  9. perch — the fish
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. spring — the season
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. kick — in football
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — for golf
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spring — of water
  24. kick — with a leg

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