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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: bulb · date · branch · swing · tear · band · spell · pit

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a ring
  4. swing — to play on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. spell — letters
  9. swing — music
  10. date — the fruit
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pit — a hole
  14. spell — magic
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pit — in a race
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a music group
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tear — from crying
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bulb — for light
  24. date — on the calendar

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