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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: saw · pop · cap · tube · swing · court · wake · date

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — of law
  4. pop — music
  5. cap — a hat
  6. court — of a king
  7. pop — soda
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cap — of ice
  14. date — the fruit
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cap — a lid
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tube — the underground
  19. swing — music
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — for sport
  22. swing — in golf
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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