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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: cap · swing · tube · date · hand · current · fall · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. hand — in cards
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tube — a container
  8. date — the fruit
  9. hand — help
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tube — the underground
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. current — electric
  18. fall — to drop
  19. current — of water
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cap — a lid
  22. current — happening now
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fall — the season

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