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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bank — for money
  5. game — a match
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — obliged
  12. current — of water
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. field — a subject
  16. current — happening now
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. field — for sport
  19. bound — certain
  20. field — farmland
  21. band — a music group
  22. bound — tied together
  23. band — a ring
  24. wave — with your hand

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