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

Word bank: drill · cell · swing · chest · mate · scale

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. scale — size or range
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. drill — army training
  6. swing — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cell — in biology
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chest — a box
  13. mate — a partner
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. drill — a practice

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