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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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Word bank
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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 · scale · pitch · last · squash · march · lean · dip

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. march — the month
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. march — the month
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. squash — to crush
  11. fork — in a road
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. scale — in music
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — music
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — a sauce

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