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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: cell · swing · scale · bear · mug · hand · last · plane

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cell — a phone
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bear — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. last — to go on
  8. scale — in music
  9. mug — to rob
  10. cell — in biology
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bear — the animal
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. last — finally
  20. swing — in golf
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. swing — music

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