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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: lean · ground · march · ruler · bulb · clip · fork · content

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ground — a position
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. march — music
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fork — in a road
  16. clip — a video
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. march — the month
  20. bulb — for light
  21. lean — to bend
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — to rest against

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