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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 116 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: club · fork · ruler · bat · march · face

  1. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. club — a group
  8. face — to confront
  9. march — the month
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — the month
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. march — music
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bat — in an idiom

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