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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: bank · staff · present · swing · wind · land · lash · band

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. present — a gift
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. land — a country
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. swing — in golf
  9. staff — employees
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. staff — employees
  13. bank — for money
  14. staff — a stick
  15. present — there
  16. present — the time now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bank — for money
  20. swing — to play on
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — of a river
  24. swing — music

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