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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: hand · bank · cap · tear · swing · straw · patient · bass

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. swing — music
  3. cap — a lid
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — of ice
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bank — for money
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — low music
  14. hand — help
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bank — of a river
  18. swing — to play on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cap — a hat
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bank — for money
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — part of the body

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