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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: wake · deal · spring · row · band · wind · pop · swing

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wake — a trail
  3. swing — music
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spring — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. swing — in golf
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a ring
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. swing — to play on
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pop — soda
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. row — a line
  19. pop — to visit
  20. band — a music group
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. row — to paddle
  23. pop — music
  24. spring — a coil

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