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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 116 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: scale · ground · fan · stem · tube · swing · band · spring

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. band — a music group
  3. scale — size or range
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. spring — of water
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — the season
  9. ground — a position
  10. swing — music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tube — a container
  14. swing — to play on
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. ground — crushed
  18. swing — in golf
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. scale — in music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. spring — a coil
  24. fan — a supporter

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