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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: straw · band · jam · bank · swing · rash · date · object

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. bank — for money
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. object — a thing
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. rash — hasty
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. object — to protest
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bank — for money
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. object — an aim
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rash — a series
  21. date — the fruit
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. swing — music

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