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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 · clip · rash · tube · scale · toast · trunk

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. date — the fruit
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. scale — size or range
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. tube — a container
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. toast — bread
  12. clip — a video
  13. swing — to play on
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. tube — the underground
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rash — hasty
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. scale — in music
  23. swing — music
  24. trunk — of a tree

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