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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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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: land · file · band · swing · bulb · straw · spring · track

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. swing — to play on
  4. file — a document
  5. bulb — for light
  6. file — a line of people
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. land — a country
  10. spring — the season
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. bulb — for light
  14. swing — music
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spring — of water
  17. track — a song
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. land — ground
  22. track — a path
  23. land — to come down
  24. spring — a coil

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