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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 116 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: swing · shower · present · band · straw · ball · wave · fine

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. present — a gift
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. swing — in golf
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. band — a ring
  10. present — there
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. swing — music
  15. ball — a great time
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. present — the time now
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. shower — to wash
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. swing — to play on

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