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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: cabinet · band · bark · scale · cold · craft · cap · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cap — of ice
  8. craft — boats
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cap — a lid
  13. scale — in music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. date — the fruit
  18. band — a music group
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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