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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: swing · wake · safe · band · roll · cold · leaves · stick

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. band — a music group
  3. swing — in golf
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. cold — not warm
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. wake — a trail
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. band — a ring
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. roll — a list
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. cold — an illness
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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