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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: date · press · pop · toast · swing · kid · arm · scale

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. toast — bread
  6. swing — music
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. swing — in golf
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. press — a publisher
  13. press — to push
  14. kid — to tease
  15. press — newspapers
  16. pop — to visit
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. scale — in music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. kid — child
  21. pop — soda
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pop — music
  24. scale — size or range

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