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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. current — happening now
  6. kid — to tease
  7. band — a music group
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a ring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. rule — government
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. rule — a law
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chest — of your body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bass — low 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