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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: bank · swing · tube · wound · fall · date · jam · squash

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. squash — to crush
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. date — the fruit
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. swing — to play on
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. fall — the season
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — music
  24. squash — the vegetable

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