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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: date · ball · tube · net · file · squash · scale · perch

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. scale — size or range
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. net — in sport
  6. file — a tool
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — after costs
  13. tube — the underground
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. squash — the sport
  16. tube — a container
  17. squash — to crush
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. net — for catching
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. file — a line of people
  23. ball — a dance
  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