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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: fan · roll · bank · bass · swing · race · perch · straw

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. swing — in golf
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bank — for money
  10. bass — low music
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — a list
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bank — for money
  24. perch — the fish

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