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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: coach · fall · swing · band · mine · scale · roll · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. band — a ring
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mug — to rob
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. swing — in golf
  7. scale — size or range
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. mug — a cup
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. swing — music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fall — to drop
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mine — for digging
  20. fall — the season
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — a list
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — an explosive

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