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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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Word bank
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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: band · land · swing · spring · toast · bowl · board · roll

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. swing — to play on
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. swing — music
  5. roll — a list
  6. land — ground
  7. toast — bread
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. land — to come down
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. band — a ring
  14. board — a committee
  15. roll — a cake
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. swing — in golf
  19. board — to get on
  20. band — a music group
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. spring — the season
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. land — a country

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