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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — of water
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. game — a match
  5. spring — the season
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. game — wild animals
  8. current — of water
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — the amount
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. swing — music
  14. date — the fruit
  15. current — happening now
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. swing — to play on
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. cap — a lid
  20. current — electric
  21. content — happy
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cap — of ice
  24. toast — bread

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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