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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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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 · cap · fork · band · bat · bay · file · deal

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. file — a line of people
  4. scale — in music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a tool
  13. cap — of ice
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. band — a ring
  20. fork — in a road
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. file — a document

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