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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a list
  3. season — of the year
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. bank — for money
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — in golf
  9. band — a ring
  10. swing — to play on
  11. spring — of water
  12. bank — of a river
  13. object — an aim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. season — in sport
  16. spring — a coil
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — to protest
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — the season
  21. swing — music
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bank — for money
  24. chest — a box

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