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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: march · swing · wave · last · kid · band · present · branch

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. band — a ring
  6. branch — a division
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — music
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. march — the month
  12. last — final
  13. present — a gift
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. present — the time now
  16. swing — in golf
  17. present — there
  18. band — a music group
  19. kid — to tease
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. march — music
  22. kid — child
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. last — to go 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