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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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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: perch · ground · march · fall · rule · mug · court · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. perch — the fish
  6. march — the month
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ground — the earth
  9. fall — to drop
  10. court — of law
  11. mug — to rob
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fall — the season
  14. ground — a position
  15. mug — a face
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — a law
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mug — a cup
  20. march — the month
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fork — in a road
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. march — music

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