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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 · club · ground · mark · dip · march · bat · scale

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. mark — a grade
  6. club — a group
  7. fork — in a road
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. march — the month
  10. club — for dancing
  11. ground — crushed
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. march — music
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. scale — size or range
  20. ground — the earth
  21. march — the month
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. scale — in music

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