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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: wake · land · roll · swing · chest · suit · rush · date

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. suit — in cards
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wake — a trail
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chest — of your body
  10. roll — a cake
  11. suit — clothes
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. roll — a list
  15. land — a country
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. land — to come down
  18. chest — a box
  19. date — the fruit
  20. suit — to fit
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. land — ground

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