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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: straw · wax · stock · swing · saw · band · present · season

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a music group
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. swing — in golf
  5. stock — shares
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. present — a gift
  8. stock — goods
  9. present — the time now
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. swing — to play on
  15. season — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. saw — the tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. season — of the year
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. present — there

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