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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. kid — child
  8. band — a music group
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kid — to tease
  22. swing — music
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bank — for money

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