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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 · fork · pound · nail · drill · dip · lie · race

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. race — a contest
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — to shout
  10. drill — army training
  11. fork — in a road
  12. race — humankind
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. dip — to sink
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pound — a weight
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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