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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: fork · land · mug · snap · net · current · scale · court

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. land — to come down
  3. mug — a face
  4. scale — size or range
  5. current — of water
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. land — a country
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. net — for catching
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to click
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. mug — to rob
  20. land — ground
  21. mug — a cup
  22. scale — in music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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