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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: date · net · shower · mine · scale · swing · chest · cabinet

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — size or range
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. chest — of your body
  13. swing — in golf
  14. net — in sport
  15. chest — a box
  16. swing — music
  17. shower — rain
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. swing — to play on
  23. mine — for digging
  24. net — after costs

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