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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: field · board · deal · cap · scale · swing · spring · cell

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. swing — in golf
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — a coil
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — size or range
  9. board — to get on
  10. spring — the season
  11. cap — a lid
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cell — in biology
  15. field — farmland
  16. spring — of water
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. field — for sport
  19. board — a committee
  20. swing — music
  21. scale — in music
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. field — a subject

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