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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: row · swing · ground · dip · rash · date · spring · pit

  1. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to sink
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. date — the fruit
  4. swing — music
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. swing — to play on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — a coil
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. spring — the season
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. spring — of water
  17. ground — a position
  18. swing — in golf
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — a series
  24. ground — crushed

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