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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 116 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: swing · wind · bear · band · rush · cap · present · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bear — the animal
  5. swing — to play on
  6. present — there
  7. band — a ring
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rush — hurry
  14. present — the time now
  15. swing — music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. present — a gift
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. land — a country
  22. bear — the animal
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — to come down

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