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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: mine · club · bark · scale · arm · trunk · press · ground

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. club — for golf
  4. ground — a position
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — to shout
  12. press — to push
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ground — the earth
  17. club — a group
  18. press — a publisher
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. press — newspapers
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. ground — crushed

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