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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fine · scale · date · band · spring · wake · cell · racket

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cell — in biology
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a ring
  15. date — the fruit
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. scale — in music
  18. band — a music group
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fine — all right
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. band — a rubber band

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