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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: pound · bat · scale · club · track · squash · rest · date

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. track — a song
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rest — a break
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. rest — what's left
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. club — for dancing
  20. scale — in music
  21. track — a path
  22. date — the fruit
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. track — to keep track

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