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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: wound · bat · fork · cue · court · scale · tube · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bat — the animal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cue — a signal
  8. date — the fruit
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — a container
  11. scale — in music
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cue — for pool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cue — a hint
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fork — in a road
  24. court — of a king

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