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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: can · pitcher · game · pound · scale · season · bark · fork

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. can — a tin
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. season — in sport
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fork — in a road
  11. scale — in music
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. scale — size or range
  18. can — a tin
  19. season — of the year
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. can — to be able to

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