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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: shower · lash · clip · band · pop · swing · squash · scale

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. clip — for paper
  4. pop — soda
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. scale — in music
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. clip — to cut
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — a video
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. band — a ring
  24. scale — size or range

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