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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · ground · fork · ruler · mine · clip · land · march

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. ground — crushed
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. fork — in a road
  12. land — ground
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — a video
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. mine — for digging
  22. ground — a position
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. fork — to eat with

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