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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: march · ground · mine · wound · file · stick · ruler · fork

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — the month
  5. ground — the earth
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fork — in a road
  14. march — music
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. march — the month
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. mine — an explosive

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