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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: bat · jam · ground · pitcher · bark · fork · scale · fine

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bat — the animal
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ground — a position
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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