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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pop — music
  3. current — of water
  4. current — happening now
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pop — soda
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bank — for money
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a ring
  12. scale — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. march — the month
  15. pop — to visit
  16. scale — size or range
  17. prune — to trim
  18. band — a music group
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bank — for money
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. bank — of a river

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