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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: land · scale · rest · jam · net · date · chair · band

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. scale — size or range
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. net — after costs
  8. land — to come down
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. band — a music group
  12. rest — what's left
  13. date — the fruit
  14. land — a country
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. scale — in music
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. land — ground
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. band — a ring
  24. rest — a break

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