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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: swing · race · land · scale · rule · craft · cue · date

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. scale — in music
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. land — a country
  5. cue — a hint
  6. rule — a law
  7. land — ground
  8. cue — a signal
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — boats
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. race — a contest
  14. land — to come down
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. date — the fruit
  17. cue — for pool
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — government
  20. race — humankind
  21. swing — in golf
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. scale — size or range
  24. swing — music

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