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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 120 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: present · swing · race · branch · band · fall · content · bank

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. present — a gift
  4. band — a music group
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bank — for money
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. race — a contest
  15. bank — of a river
  16. race — humankind
  17. swing — music
  18. content — happy
  19. fall — the season
  20. branch — a division
  21. race — the arms race
  22. content — the amount
  23. band — a ring
  24. swing — in golf

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