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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: face · date · scale · field · trunk · race

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. field — for sport
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. race — humankind
  6. date — the fruit
  7. scale — in music
  8. face — part of the head
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. race — the arms race
  12. face — to confront
  13. race — a contest
  14. face — to point toward
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. scale — size or range
  18. date — on the calendar

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