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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: swing · cell · rock · wound · face · scale · wave · net

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. scale — size or range
  3. face — to point toward
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. net — in sport
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — for catching
  11. scale — in music
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — a stone
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. face — to confront

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