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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 · hide · stock · current · bank · court · wax · band

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. band — a music group
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — to grow
  7. swing — music
  8. bank — for money
  9. court — of a king
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stock — goods
  12. court — of law
  13. bank — for money
  14. current — electric
  15. current — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. bank — of a river
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. swing — to play on
  20. stock — shares
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. court — for sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. swing — in golf

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