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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: bat · court · ground · mark · scale · net · bark · pound

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. net — after costs
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. court — of a king
  6. mark — a grade
  7. ground — the earth
  8. pound — a weight
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mark — a trace
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. ground — a position
  18. net — for catching
  19. court — for sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. bark — to shout
  22. court — of law
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in 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