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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 120 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: pitcher · march · cap · tube · pound · spring · deal · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. cap — of ice
  3. tube — the underground
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pound — a weight
  12. march — music
  13. cap — a hat
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — of water
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — a container
  20. cap — a lid
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. scale — in music
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. spring — the season

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