diff --git a/doccov/main.go b/doccov/main.go
index 4673478..0416c4e 100644
--- a/doccov/main.go
+++ b/doccov/main.go
@@ -255,19 +255,30 @@ func shortName(name string) string {
 }
 
 var (
+	fencedBlock  = regexp.MustCompile("(?s)```.*?```")
 	backtickSpan = regexp.MustCompile("`[^`]+`")
 	wordToken    = regexp.MustCompile(`[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_]*`)
 )
 
-// backtickWords collects every identifier word appearing inside a backtick span
-// of the document.
+// backtickWords collects every identifier word that appears inside code in the
+// document — both ```fenced``` blocks and `inline` spans. Fenced blocks are
+// processed and removed first so their backticks don't throw off the
+// single-backtick span matcher (which otherwise mis-pairs across a fence, so a
+// `code` reference in a table *after* a fenced example could be missed).
 func backtickWords(doc string) map[string]bool {
 	out := map[string]bool{}
-	for _, span := range backtickSpan.FindAllString(doc, -1) {
-		for _, w := range wordToken.FindAllString(span, -1) {
+	add := func(s string) {
+		for _, w := range wordToken.FindAllString(s, -1) {
 			out[w] = true
 		}
 	}
+	rest := fencedBlock.ReplaceAllStringFunc(doc, func(block string) string {
+		add(block)
+		return "\n"
+	})
+	for _, span := range backtickSpan.FindAllString(rest, -1) {
+		add(span)
+	}
 	return out
 }
 
diff --git a/doccov/main_test.go b/doccov/main_test.go
index d6cfe29..cee628e 100644
--- a/doccov/main_test.go
+++ b/doccov/main_test.go
@@ -64,6 +64,18 @@ func TestBacktickWords(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestBacktickWordsAcrossFences(t *testing.T) {
+	// Regression: a `code` reference in a table AFTER a ```fenced``` block must
+	// still be detected (the fenced block must not corrupt inline-span pairing).
+	doc := "Intro `inline_one`.\n\n```go\ncode := example()\n```\n\n| opt | accessors |\n|---|---|\n| width | `get_width` / `set_width` |\n"
+	words := backtickWords(doc)
+	for _, w := range []string{"inline_one", "example", "get_width", "set_width"} {
+		if !words[w] {
+			t.Errorf("expected %q documented across the fence, got %v", w, words)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
 func TestRunGood(t *testing.T) {
 	if err := run("testdata/good", "README.md", nil, false); err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("good fixture should pass, got: %v", err)