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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: cell · present · stock · swing · land · date · wind · pop

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. present — the time now
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stock — goods
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. land — ground
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. swing — in golf
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. date — the fruit
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. land — a country
  23. pop — music
  24. stock — shares

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