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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: cap · trunk · shower · scale · march · mate · swing · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. swing — in golf
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cap — of ice
  5. march — the month
  6. fork — in a road
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. cap — a lid
  12. swing — to play on
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — to breed
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cap — a hat
  19. mate — a friend
  20. scale — in music
  21. swing — music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. march — music

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