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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: swing · wind · cell · spring · squash · race · band · mouse

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — of water
  8. band — a music group
  9. cell — in biology
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. swing — in golf
  13. squash — the sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. swing — to play on
  17. race — humankind
  18. swing — music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — a contest
  24. cell — a phone

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