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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: fork · rule · court · wake · scale · swing · spell · land

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. swing — to play on
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wake — a trail
  5. land — to come down
  6. fork — in a road
  7. swing — in golf
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. swing — music
  12. land — ground
  13. court — of law
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. scale — size or range
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. court — of a king
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rule — a law
  20. spell — a short time
  21. court — for sport
  22. land — a country
  23. scale — in music
  24. rule — government

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