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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: wake · swing · last · band · mine · hand · lean · dip

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. swing — music
  3. lean — thin
  4. band — a music group
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. band — a ring
  7. last — finally
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. swing — in golf
  11. last — final
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. lean — to bend
  19. swing — to play on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wake — a trail

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