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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wave · date · straw · scale · bat · band · arm · ball

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. date — the fruit
  4. ball — a dance
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ball — a great time
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. scale — in music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. band — a music group
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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