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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 · dip · band · bank · stem · saw · row · chip

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bank — of a river
  4. stem — to come from
  5. band — a ring
  6. swing — in golf
  7. dip — to sink
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — to eat
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. band — a music group
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bank — for money
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. bank — for money
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. swing — music
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chip — in a computer

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