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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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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: degree · date · spring · pass · swing · cap · bank · cell

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. swing — music
  4. pass — a permit
  5. cell — a phone
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spring — of water
  11. bank — for money
  12. date — the fruit
  13. spring — a coil
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — an amount
  24. spring — the season

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