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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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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: squash · dip · band · kid · wave · stem · swing · saw

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. saw — the tool
  3. swing — to play on
  4. band — a ring
  5. dip — to sink
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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