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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 120 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: band · last · straw · root · arm · swing · cold · rush

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. cold — an illness
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. rush — hurry
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a ring
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. last — to go on
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — music
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. swing — to play on
  22. root — of a plant
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. root — the cause

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