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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: march · band · drill · swing · ball · file · field · scale

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. field — for sport
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. scale — in music
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. file — a line of people
  11. scale — size or range
  12. swing — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. drill — a practice
  17. file — a tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. field — farmland
  20. file — a document
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. field — a subject
  24. march — the month

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