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

Word bank: cell · swing · deal · march · band · bat

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. march — the month
  4. swing — to play on
  5. march — music
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. swing — music
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. deal — to handle
  13. swing — in golf
  14. cell — a phone
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. band — a ring
  18. bat — the animal

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