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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 120 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 · tube · arm · nail · band · spring · object · dip

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. band — a ring
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. swing — music
  8. object — to protest
  9. swing — in golf
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. swing — to play on
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. tube — the underground
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. dip — to sink

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