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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: scale · season · cell · swing · present · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. swing — in golf
  4. present — the time now
  5. season — of the year
  6. cell — in biology
  7. swing — music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. present — a gift
  11. scale — size or range
  12. swing — to play on
  13. scale — in music
  14. present — there
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cell — a phone
  17. season — in sport
  18. cell — in a prison

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