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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: swing · arm · band · jam · scale · shower · cold · track

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — size or range
  9. track — a song
  10. band — a ring
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cold — an illness
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. band — a music group
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cold — not warm
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. scale — in music
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. swing — to play on

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