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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: row · spring · band · date · swing · hand · mouse · pop

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. pop — music
  3. spring — of water
  4. date — the fruit
  5. swing — in golf
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. spring — the season
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. hand — in cards
  12. pop — soda
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. row — a line
  19. hand — help
  20. row — to paddle
  21. band — a ring
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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