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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: lean · scale · club · march · bark · cap · mark · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. club — for golf
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lean — to bend
  15. club — for dancing
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cap — a hat
  18. march — the month
  19. scale — in music
  20. mark — a trace
  21. club — a group
  22. march — music
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. mark — a grade

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