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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 · pound · swing · scale · arm · fork · straw · date

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. swing — music
  5. spring — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fork — in a road
  8. date — the fruit
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. swing — in golf
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. spring — the season
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. spring — a coil
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pound — a weight
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. swing — to play on
  22. scale — size or range
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. scale — in music

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