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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: kick · cell · swing · present · wake · ground · current · date

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. present — a gift
  6. current — of water
  7. ground — crushed
  8. swing — music
  9. ground — a position
  10. cell — a phone
  11. swing — in golf
  12. present — there
  13. current — electric
  14. date — the fruit
  15. present — the time now
  16. wake — a trail
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. swing — to play on
  19. kick — in football
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. current — happening now
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. ground — the earth

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