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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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468
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: swing · tube · date · racket · kick · degree · shower · bulb

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — in football
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — rain
  6. date — the fruit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — from a university
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. degree — temperature
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. tube — a container
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. swing — music
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. swing — to play on
  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