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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 · swing · spring · sharp · pop · scale · dip · cell

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. scale — size or range
  3. swing — in golf
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. pop — soda
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pop — to visit
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — of water
  10. pop — music
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — in music
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — to play on
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. date — the fruit
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. spring — a coil
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cell — a phone

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