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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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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 · wound · bank · stand · swing · court · rest · band

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stand — to bear
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. band — a ring
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bank — for money
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — a break
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — an injury
  21. swing — music
  22. bank — for money
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — of a king

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