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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: mark · sharp · ground · scale · hand · field · march · drill

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. march — the month
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — for sport
  6. drill — the tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. hand — help
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — a subject
  12. mark — a grade
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mark — a trace
  21. scale — size or range
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. march — music
  24. drill — army training

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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