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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: spring · fall · lash · swing · ball · suit · scale · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. last — final
  2. suit — clothes
  3. fall — to drop
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. spring — of water
  8. last — to go on
  9. spring — the season
  10. fall — the season
  11. suit — to fit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. suit — in cards
  16. last — finally
  17. swing — in golf
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. scale — in music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. lash — to lash out
  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