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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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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 · season · cell · swing · present · wind · stand · root

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. root — of a word
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. swing — in golf
  7. root — the cause
  8. scale — size or range
  9. root — of a plant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. season — of the year
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — in music
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. present — there
  19. season — in sport
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. swing — music
  23. cell — in biology
  24. swing — to play on

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