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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: date · cap · spring · field · racket · pitcher · court · scale

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. scale — in music
  5. field — a subject
  6. scale — size or range
  7. spring — the season
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. cap — of ice
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — for sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. field — for sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of a king
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. field — farmland
  24. cap — a lid

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