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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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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: wind · bark · swing · key · current · foot · fork · race

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bark — to shout
  4. race — humankind
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. foot — a measure
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. key — in music
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — moving air
  12. race — the arms race
  13. swing — to play on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. current — electric
  16. key — for a lock
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. current — happening now
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. swing — music
  21. wind — moving air
  22. fork — in a road
  23. race — a contest
  24. foot — the bottom

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