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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: land · mine · content · swing · pop · sharp · kid · bank

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pop — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — soda
  5. bank — of a river
  6. swing — in golf
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bank — for money
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — the amount
  12. land — a country
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pop — to visit
  17. content — happy
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bank — for money
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. swing — to play on

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