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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: scale · sharp · field · pitcher · rule · bark · court · bass

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. field — a subject
  5. court — for sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. scale — in music
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rule — government
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bass — the fish
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — clever
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. bass — low music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitcher — a jug

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