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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 · mine · club · calf · ground · drill · mouse · roll

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. roll — a cake
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. roll — a list
  12. club — for dancing
  13. drill — the tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. club — a group
  18. scale — in music
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ground — a position

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