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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: fork · rock · race · bark · present · toast · game · hand

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. present — the time now
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. race — humankind
  8. fork — in a road
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — there
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. hand — help
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. toast — bread
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — a stone
  22. present — a gift
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. game — a match

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