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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 · deal · rock · wave · race · straw · tear · band

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. band — a ring
  6. swing — in golf
  7. tear — to rip
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rock — music
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. race — the arms race
  16. deal — to handle
  17. swing — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tear — from crying
  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