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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: race · spring · swing · pass · prune · band · bank · march

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bank — for money
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — in golf
  7. race — the arms race
  8. band — a ring
  9. pass — a permit
  10. race — a contest
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — music
  15. bank — of a river
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bank — for money
  22. race — humankind
  23. march — music
  24. prune — to trim

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