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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: jam · hand · bank · march · pound · swing · cell · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. swing — music
  3. hand — in cards
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. march — the month
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. hand — help
  8. bank — of a river
  9. bank — for money
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. land — to come down
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. land — ground
  16. march — music
  17. pound — a weight
  18. cell — a phone
  19. swing — to play on
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bank — for money
  24. cell — in a prison

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