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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
468
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: scale · swing · fork · band · present · rock · tube · land

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — to come down
  3. band — a music group
  4. present — there
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tube — the underground
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — music
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. present — a gift
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. land — a country
  13. rock — music
  14. land — ground
  15. rock — a stone
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fork — in a road
  18. scale — in music
  19. present — the time now
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. tube — a container
  24. scale — size or range

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