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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: pass · chest · deal · band · rush · net · swing · hand

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. band — a ring
  3. net — for catching
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. chest — a box
  6. deal — to handle
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. swing — in golf
  12. rush — hurry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. hand — in cards
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — in sport
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. pass — a permit
  24. chest — of your 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