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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: roll · scale · row · calf · swing · cold · band · ball

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. ball — a dance
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. swing — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. ball — a great time
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. roll — a list
  15. swing — in golf
  16. row — a line
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cold — an illness
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. row — to paddle

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