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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 · branch · wake · rest · straw · pop · band · capital

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pop — soda
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. band — a ring
  5. rest — a break
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. swing — in golf
  10. capital — a city
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rest — what's left
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pop — to visit
  21. branch — a division
  22. capital — money
  23. rest — what's left
  24. band — a music group

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