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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: march · mine · wake · ground · bark · fork · safe · court

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. mine — for digging
  8. march — music
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fork — in a road
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. court — for sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. march — the month

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