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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: march · lean · field · scale · net · bark · club · current

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bark — to shout
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — the month
  6. net — after costs
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — for catching
  11. scale — in music
  12. march — music
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. net — in sport
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — size or range
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. field — farmland
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. lean — thin
  22. club — for dancing
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. current — electric

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