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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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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: band · racket · scale · cabinet · field · ball · date · spell

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. field — a subject
  6. scale — size or range
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — farmland
  9. ball — a great time
  10. date — the fruit
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ball — a dance
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — in music
  24. band — a ring

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