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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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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: date · bowl · arm · cap · swing · roll · dip · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. swing — to play on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cell — in biology
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. cap — a hat
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. roll — a list
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cap — a lid
  16. dip — to sink
  17. cap — of ice
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. date — on the calendar

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