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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 120 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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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: ball · wake · cap · tear · stick · cell · wind · swing

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cap — a hat
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — in golf
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. ball — a dance
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wake — a trail
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. swing — music
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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