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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 116 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: chip · swing · present · lean · tear · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. present — there
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. chip — for betting
  6. swing — to play on
  7. band — a music group
  8. swing — in golf
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chip — to eat
  11. present — the time now
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. present — a gift
  18. swing — music

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