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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: plane · swing · bank · chest · pass · toast · degree · band

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. band — a ring
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. degree — an amount
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. plane — a tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a music group
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. bank — for money
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bank — of a river
  24. pass — a permit

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