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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. track — a song
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — electric
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spell — letters
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. saw — the tool
  12. current — of water
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — completely
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a music group
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. track — a path
  22. spell — magic
  23. bass — low music
  24. spell — a short time

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