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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 120 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: straw · club · pit · fork · scale · mine · face · mark

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mark — a trace
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. club — for dancing
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. scale — in music
  16. pit — in a race
  17. face — part of the head
  18. club — a group
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. fork — in a road
  23. face — to confront
  24. scale — for weighing

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