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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rash — a series
  4. band — a music group
  5. swing — in golf
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bank — for money
  14. swing — music
  15. band — a ring
  16. rash — hasty
  17. snap — to click
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bank — for money
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bank — of a river

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