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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: scale · fork · court · pitch · chair · ground · file · drill

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. fork — to eat with
  2. file — a document
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. scale — size or range
  5. court — of law
  6. ground — crushed
  7. fork — in a road
  8. court — of a king
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. drill — army training
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. file — a tool
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — a position
  18. chair — a leader
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  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