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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rash — hasty
  6. squash — to crush
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — a series
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. swing — music
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. squash — the sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. leaves — lets stay

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